Vacant Property Checks And What Fails While Empty

A property with nobody in it has nobody noticing.

Which is why a vacancy of a few months can produce more damage than years of tenancy. The failures are not dramatic and they are not quick, and by the time somebody opens the door the repair is much larger than the fault.

What actually fails

Traps dry out. Every floor waste, basin, laundry tub and unused shower has a water seal in its trap, and when it evaporates the drain stops being sealed. The result is sewer odour through the property, and it is the most common complaint on reletting an empty unit. Running every tap and every floor waste for thirty seconds fixes it.

Small leaks run unnoticed. A dripping cistern, a weeping flexible hose or a failing mixer cartridge does its damage over weeks instead of being reported in a day. A flexible hose that lets go in an empty unit floods the floor below, and that is the single most expensive vacancy failure there is. The replacement interval matters, and it sits alongside [dripping taps and mixer cartridges](/blog/dripping-taps-and-mixer-cartridges).

Moisture builds up. A closed property with no air movement and no heating develops condensation and mould, particularly in bathrooms, wardrobes and against external walls. Which is the same mechanism as [bathroom condensation, mould and the exhaust fan](/blog/bathroom-condensation-mould-and-the-exhaust-fan) with nobody opening a window.

Water ingress is not reported. A roof leak, a failed balcony membrane or a blocked valley does months of damage instead of being called in after the first storm. The faults in [roof tiles, ridge capping and the leaks they cause](/blog/roof-tiles-ridge-capping-and-the-leaks-they-cause) all get worse in a vacancy.

Pests move in. No activity and no cleaning means a property becomes attractive, and the entry points nobody closed get used. That is the argument in [pest entry points and the trades that close them](/blog/pest-entry-points-and-the-trades-that-close-them).

Seals and hardware seize. Window hardware, door closers, sliding tracks and locks all do better with use than without it, and a property reopened after six months has a list of stiff and seized items that worked when it was locked up.

Hot water units deteriorate. An unused system still corrodes, and an anode left for a long vacancy is part of the shortened life in [hot water, when to repair and when to replace](/blog/hot-water-when-to-repair-and-when-to-replace).

Insurance conditions lapse. Most policies treat an extended vacancy differently and some require documented inspections to keep cover in place. Which makes the walk through a record keeping exercise as much as a maintenance one.

The check, which takes twenty minutes

Run every tap, flush every toilet, and pour water into every floor waste. The single highest return item on the list.

Look under every sink and behind every toilet for a weep or a stain.

Open the windows and let the property air for the duration of the visit, and check the wardrobes and the bathroom for mould.

Look at every ceiling, because a stain that was not there last month is a roof or a plumbing fault with a date on it.

Check the meter. A water meter moving in an empty property is a leak, and it is the fastest diagnostic available. That is the same tool as in [water meters, sub metering and leak detection](/blog/water-meters-sub-metering-and-leak-detection).

Test the smoke alarms, which is a compliance item regardless of occupancy and is covered in [smoke alarm compliance in a rented property](/blog/smoke-alarm-compliance-in-a-rented-property).

Operate the windows, doors and locks, so nothing seizes and anything stiff gets noted.

Clear the gutters and the stormwater pits if the property is a house, as in [stormwater pits and grates on a property](/blog/stormwater-pits-and-grates-on-a-property).

Photograph everything, because a dated photo record is what settles a question later.

Turning the list into the relet

The point of the monthly check is that the relet is not a repair programme.

Everything found on a walk through goes on a list, and the list gets done as one scope before the property goes back to market rather than as a scramble between a lease signing and a move in date. That is the same approach as [end of lease, made re-let ready, fast](/blog/end-of-lease-made-re-let-ready-fast) and it only works if the items were being recorded along the way.

One team doing the checks and the repairs means the list is already scoped by the time somebody asks what it will take.

Our maintenance work. Talk to us about a property.