My girlfriend is going to be renting out her flat and moving in with me and has been pretty organised about all the stuff in regards to renting it out but has come across one final stumbling block which is landlords insurance.

She had got quotes and was all set to go with the people with the big red telephone until the tenant to be just told her that she works partly offshore and is frequently away for more than 2 weeks at a time. In a bit of a panic my girlfriend called direct line to see if they would still cover her and they said no.

Does any one know of any insurers who will give insurance when the property my be empty for a prolonged period or will it be easier trying to get something put in the contract that if the tenant is away for a period greater than 14 days they must inform my girlfriend so she can arrange for someone to go round to the flat to check everything is ok?

The flat is only a couple of miles from mine so stopping by every now and then wouldn’t be too much trouble but I don’t know if this would be invading on the tenants space a bit much. At the end of the day my girlfriend wants to guarantee her property and the contents will be insured without troubling the tenant unnecessarily.

Ring your current insurance company most will do landlord insurance.

About to lease my first property next week and the currant insurance just said ring them and change/upgrade.

Dont forget the Inventory… just finished mine today and it took two days for an empty house and garden.

Now I’m a evil capitalist pigdog landlord 😉

Inventory is more or less there it took us about that long to go through everything too. We are planning on going through it with the tenant and adding or removing any comments as they see fit.

Girlfriend is phoning round a few places this afternoon, M&S have already said no for changing over so unfortunately that is not going to work for her.

don’t most contracts say 24 hour notice for landlord entry? mine always have. that should sort the access thing and thus the insurance

Sorry – no help – I used the red phone too…

Dont forget the Inventory… just finished mine today and it took two days for an empty house and garden.

Inventory is more or less there it took us about that long to go through everything too. We are planning on going through it with the tenant and adding or removing any comments as they see fit.

?? I have just quickly listed the extra ‘removables’ and have taken photos instead of writing descriptions. How did it take you both so long? What have I done wrong?

Pook,

We would still have access we can write to the tenant and give 24hrs notice for a visit which I think is what you were getting at??

To solve the problem of prolonged absence from the property we could add a bit into the contract to state if the tenant is away from the property for a period of 12 days or more they must contact us then we will write back to them to state an inspection will take place mid way through the time they are away to check everything is A ok and comply with the insurance requirements. This may also help the tenant with getting insurance.

Inventory –

Ours is in an excel spreadsheet and documents wall coverings, carpets, curtains, light fittings – everything down to cutlery, coasters and door stops. For each item we have detailed quantity make condition where appropriate. For some of the more expensive items we have also detailed model numbers – TV, stereo, DVD, washing machine to ensure the same items are there when the tenant leaves and so they have a reference if they ever loose the instructions for something.

[edit] Also as you can tell form some of my posts I am not the quickest at typing [/edit]

Have a word with Renton, he seems to know about this stuff…….. 😉

Don’t think Renton’s problem with his tenants was prolonged absence from the property almost everything else but not proloned absence from the property 😉

Well he wasn’t there when the plumber burnt the carpet so that counts!

Slightly different circumstances, maybe I didn’t explain it very well. The problem we have is that as the tenant to be may be out of the property with work commitments for a few weeks at a time which may exceed the overall vacant time for the property for insurance purposes – some insurers have a limit on this.

Renton I believe is in a different geographical location to his rental property so is unable to be there to supervise or coordinate repair work.

If any one knows of an insurer with more lenient time scales on vacant periods of rental properties I’d be grateful.