Winter Home Safety Guide

Landlords

With nearly 200,000 insurance claims made each winter due to frozen pipes and water damage, don’t wait until the weather changes for the worse before making sure your property is protected. Avoid property damage, disgruntled tenants and financial loss by using our simple checklist and put preventative measures in place to ensure problems don’t arise.

• Check gutters, drains and the roof
• Schedule a boiler service
• Check heating and hot water systems
• Make sure water tanks and pipes are properly lagged
• Can your outside tap be isolated?
• Does your heating have a frost thermostat?
• Can the stop tap be turned off easily?
• If your property is empty, have you asked your agent to put the heating on low or arranged for the system to be drained?
• Test smoke alarms and Carbon Dioxide detectors
• Repair old windows and doors
• Check the trees in the garden for over-hanging and potentially dangerous branches

Tenants

If you’re going away during the winter period, have you:

• Reported any dripping taps to your agent or Landlord?
• Advised your agent or Landlord on how long the property will be empty?

Similarly, don’t forget to…

• Leave the heating on low continuously for the period you’re away.
• You could leave the loft open to keep the roof space above freezing point.
• Make sure that outside taps are isolated and drained and don’t have anything attached to them.
• Do you know where the stop tap is?
• Leave the key with someone who can regularly check on the property for you.

Head of Property Management in Worcester, Gillian Critchson, advocates a proactive approach and the avoidance of many problems by simply planning ahead. It’s devastating when a property is flooded or water damaged, plus you could lose valuable income if the property becomes uninhabitable.