Maintaining an empty house

jakdublin

I know empty houses are a curse with the current housing crisis, but my dad is sadly gone into a nursing home and we are applying for the Fair Deal scheme, which means renting it out isn't an option. The question I have is how to maintain the house. It's a regular three-bed semi detached. At the moment, the heating comes on a couple of hours a day but somebody told me this is a waste and we'd be better off airing it for half an hour three times a week or so. Anybody got some advice that could help? We're definitely not a DIY family!

jack of all

Some low level of heating is a must coupled with some regular ventilation. A dehumidifier would be a good investment, particularly over the next few months. Once we're into low temperature conditions you will need to consider how you'll manage the risk of freezing pipework- either by upgrading the insulation to pipework, increasing heating and or draining down your water tanks.

punisher5112

As above a dehumidifier for upstairs and one downstairs will help greatly for the winter.

Gravelly

Be careful in relation to house insurance - any policy I've ever seen stipulates that the house has to be occupied.

exaisle

The house can be occupied by a caretaker....although obviously no rent would change hands...but this would keep the insurance valid.

punisher5112

Get a heat lamp or similar frost protector for the attic tank, and think of draining the water also to protect against burst pipes.

You can get a thermostat to come on if temperature falls below say 2 degrees or less for the boiler if not fitted already.

Get those sealable bags for anything worth keeping like clothes, bed sheets etc... Where you use vacuum cleaner to suck air out.

Make sure the house has vents that are adequate to help also.

jack of all

Gravelly wrote: »

Be careful in relation to house insurance - any policy I've ever seen stipulates that the house has to be occupied.

Good point.

I was in this situation, my own property was unoccupied for an extended period. I had to use a broker- most domestic policies will not cover dwellings which are unoccupied for more than 30 consecutive days. In my case (a number of years ago) I could only get buildings cover (contents are uninsurable) and gave an undertaking that the property would be inspected at regular intervals- once a fortnight if I recall correctly. The usual precautions with regard water tanks/ freezing pipework etc also applied.

elperello

Get some timer switches to turn lights off and on at intervals.
Also a neighbour might agree to keep an eye on the house and be a key holder.

jakdublin

Thanks for those tips. I did let the insurance company know and they changed and reduced the premium accordingly. As jack of all said, they'll only give building cover but there's not much in the way of contents anyway so that's OK. How would the dehumidifier work? Like, how often would it need to be on? And if we keep a low level of heating as jack of all suggests, would that mean we shouldn't turn the water off at the mains? Sorry for all the questions and the answers so far are really appreciated.

dok_golf

we found ourselves in exactly the same situation. We have the heat coming on for 45 min every night thro out winter, while leaving all the doors open inside. We also drain down the water tank every October so as to negate the possibility of freezing pipes. We also, as mentioned above, use timer lights and change the settings regularly to account for shortening evenings. We also have a camera installed where we can look in at any time ( the camera records automatically if it detects movement0

BarryD2

Some background heat for an hour or two a day during winter as suggested. Not sure why people are advising re dehumidifiers etc. Normal room vents should suffice. The majority of moisture in a reasonably well built house comes from the occupants - just breathing, cooking, washing etc etc. So if there are no occupants, there should be little moisture generated. You're just left with the ambient atmosphere and normal background heat and room vents should cope with that.

BrokenArrows

Load the place up with mouse traps too.

Cerco

Turn off the water main inlet(normally under sink)

Open door to attic a small amount to allow some heat to tanks.

Set heating to come on around 8pm and then again at 3 am.
If you have room thermostats then set to around 15 degrees.
Consider fitting a frost stat in attic to turn on heating if temp drops severely.


Use timers on lights or wifi switches if you have internet access. Also use wifi cameras (mobile broadband is affordable for peace of mind)

Install ultrasonic pest deterrents. Get ones you can change frequency.


Keep grass cut.

Redirect post and block letterbox to prevent build up of junk mail.

Visit as often as practicable.

Ask neighbours to keep an eye and give them your mobile no.

bonzodog2

When you do visit, check U-bends for bath/shower/toilet haven't lost all water due to evaporation

Spanish Eyes

Rent it out.

Your answer will tell us all we need to know about certain empty properties and the futility of renting from a LL point of view. And the effect on the Fair Deal too.

Sorry if I took this off topic.

dok_golf

Cerco wrote: »

Turn off the water main inlet(normally under sink)

Open door to attic a small amount to allow some heat to tanks.

Set heating to come on around 8pm and then again at 3 am.
If you have room thermostats then set to around 15 degrees.
Consider fitting a frost stat in attic to turn on heating if temp drops severely.


Use timers on lights or wifi switches if you have internet access. Also use wifi cameras (mobile broadband is affordable for peace of mind)

Install ultrasonic pest deterrents. Get ones you can change frequency.


Keep grass cut.

Redirect post and block letterbox to prevent build up of junk mail.

Visit as often as practicable.

Ask neighbours to keep an eye and give them your mobile no.

No need to do any of that in attic if tanks are drained down

jakdublin

dok_golf wrote: »

No need to do any of that in attic if tanks are drained down

Problem with that I think is that is one of my siblings lives abroad and comes over 2/3 times a year so we'd prefer not to drain.

jakdublin

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Rent it out.

Your answer will tell us all we need to know about certain empty properties and the futility of renting from a LL point of view. And the effect on the Fair Deal too.

Sorry if I took this off topic.

We'd be happy to rent out, but under current Fair Deal rules 80 per cent of income would go directly to HSE and it would potentially effect my dad's pension too. It would end up costing us in the long run, along with the hassle of being a landlord. Nobody in our situation would rent out and I'm sure there's plenty of us, and empty homes, out there as a result. It's a real shame in the current climate with so many looking for homes.

dok_golf

jakdublin wrote: »

Problem with that I think is that is one of my siblings lives abroad and comes over 2/3 times a year so we'd prefer not to drain.

It will take less than 15 min to refill.