DS plans to leave his central London flat totally empty for a year

It’s a shame as he could earn a lot of money from renting it out but just yesterday I was talking to a colleague who rented out their London flat while they took on a one year secondment. The tenant caused £20k worth of damage and most of it wasn’t even particularly wreckless but stuff like expensive flooring and broken tiles which meant the whole splashback needed replacing, plus the place just felt a bit used and beaten up afterwards.

He’s not being ridiculous. Being a landlord is a crazy thing these days. Due to rogue landlords, all landlords are now severely disadvantaged. If a tenant doesn’t want to leave, you can’t make them, without spending tens of thousands in court. And it’s all so pointless as rogue landlords are still treating tenants like shit and getting away with it. If it’s his own home, having people in when you have no idea who they are or how they’ll treat it can worse than leaving it empty.

I know a couple who went to Australia for 2 years and rented their family home out to another family. It was so badly destroyed. Not as explicitly obvious as you might imagine - but lots of little stains on every carpet, chipped plug sockets (??), nasty unauthorised paint jobs, just generally zero care for the house and loads of little dings everywhere. Original family were so upset when they returned to the UK that they sold the house. Based on legal advice, a relative of mine recently left his property empty for 6 months. No regrets - neighbours kept an eye and family visited it from time to time.

Sorry to hear that, it must be really upsetting for you. I would leave him to it, then. There's not much you can do.

Would he mind you using it as a bolt hole when you check on it? It could be a nice chance to get in and do a bit of London (if that's your thing)

He's mad but not your problem!

Why would he needs contents insurance if empty ?

I was picturing a furnished flat that he's just going to lock up and leave for a year. Does he live there at the moment before he travels? Most home insurance does not allow for the place to be left unoccupied for more than 30 days. I think we had a policy once that allowed for a 90 day absence but that was unusual, certainly not 365 days with no-one ensuring no leaks, fires, squatters and so on. Specialised insurance is required or someone stays regularly.

Options include air bnb, 'house' sitters, Mon to Friday lodgers etc but all need managing. The best deal if he wanted the flat to be secure and earn some money would be to let a friend stay there for a low rent for some of the year.

I left my HA flat empty for a year while I was working in the USA. I did not want to lose the tenancy so did not tell them I would be away. A relative lived nearby and he went in 2/3 times weekly to open my mail and email me if there was anything to deal with. He also arranged to be present for any inspections the HA wanted to do for gas/electricity etc. Flats in blocks are pretty anonymous and anyone seeing him probably assumed him to be the occupier.

A house sitter would be ideal if they can afford one. There are sites where you can get one and they have all been well checked out. Failing that do they have a friend or relative who would not mind checking in for 1/2 timesa week to make the place took occupied? Installing those programmable lights which can turn on and off randomly would also work.

Agree with this.

I was going to suggest a property management company who specialise in vacant properties too. Checks and also some cleaning so he doesn’t get home to a load of mould or dust either!

I think he is being sensible. He may want to pay a managing agency or a trusted friend to visit once a month and check everything is ok and report any issues.

Surely a digital nomad won’t be taking all their belongings with them?

As has been stated, the building insurance normally has a clause that means you can’t be away from the property over a certain amount of time.

When I sold an empty property I had to agree to monthly visits, heating on to a certain temp in the winter and a higher price. After a year, I had to go to a specialist insurer which of course cost me even more.

No.

Who owns the freehold @Tedsabear ? The shop?

And this cost a million? Is London that amazing?

Is it swank, @Tedsabear ? Can you use it as your pied-à-terre whilst he's out of town?

What if he gets tenants and they refuse to move out?

One of the reasons there are fewer and fewer landlords today is that some tenants can be very difficult, and owners often struggle to regain possession of their properties, sometimes ending up in lengthy court battles.

If your son has valuable possessions, like expensive furniture or personal items, it’s completely understandable that he wouldn’t want strangers living in his home, using his things, or sleep in his bed.

Being unoccupied for this length of time would normally invalidate his insurance. He might struggle to get insurance on this basis and if he does, he will likely need someone to check every week.

Aside from this, what happens if there is a problem like a leak or break in? Circumstances that if not spotted and dealt with straight away, can end up much much worse (eg leak is for weeks rather than a day, there is much more water, it doesnt get dried out quickly, flooring gets warped, resultant damp issues etc etc)

They were being tongue in cheek.

Totally agree!

It’s not as if it’s a second home. It’s his primary residence that he owns and is abroad for a year.

Insurance,safety certificates,legal fees for rental agreements, who sorts issues with maintenance,damage and evicting tenants if they won’t leave

it really isn’t a simple thing to do and could quite easily end up costing him

Housing crisis ? What housing crisis ?

My parents and a couple they were friends with used to go abroad for extended periods of time to do with the charity they were all involved with
We used to take it in turns to stay over at their respective houses to help with the insurance
One was in a tourist hotspot so not a great hardship