If you’re a landlord, winter can be slightly daunting – you could be looking at mould, damp or heating problems in your property.
Most landlord insurance policies won’t cover mould and damp, so it’s even more important that you stay on top of it.
If you take a few steps to keep you and your tenants prepared, you should have an uneventful cold season and happy tenants!
Interior property maintenance checks
If your property is currently unoccupied, there’s a few checks you can do yourself.
If not, you may need to ask your tenants to check some areas – with the understanding you’ll get to work on fixing it if any problems come up.
Or you could ask for a quick afternoon to do some internal checks of the property before winter sets in.
Boiler
You should test the boiler to make sure it’s running correctly before the winter months.
Every boiler manufacturer recommends annual servicing to prevent problems. It helps you conserve energy, save money and improve longevity.
Read our full guide to preparing your boiler for winter.
Water pipes
Insulating your pipes with tubing is known as ‘lagging’, and you can often do it yourself.
Lagging helps prevent freezing pipes. Focus on hot water pipes from your boiler or cylinder.
Radiators
If you haven’t turned your heating on for a while, air can enter the system and form bubbles at the top of your radiators, which stops them from working efficiently.
You should bleed all of your radiators before the cold sets in.
Check out our guide to how to bleed radiators.
Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
It’s a legal requirement to have smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in your rental property, and your responsibility as the landlord to make sure they’re working.
Ideally your alarms should be tested monthly, but it’s important you give them a cursory check before heading into the winter months.
With smoke alarms, you should hold down the button until the alarm sounds briefly.
With carbon monoxide alarms, you normally need to hold down the button until you hear a series of beeps.
Different models have different ways of testing, so always check to be safe. If it doesn’t appear to be working, you’ll need to either replace the batteries or the alarm itself.
Check window and door seals
You should check windows or door seals for any space or breaks in the seal. If there is, the cold could get in and work against your heating system.
You can technically reseal windows yourself, but it’s best to leave it to a professional.
Exterior property maintenance checks
There’s some exterior property checks you can do before the winter.
It’s important to remember that most landlord insurance policies won’t cover you for ‘wear and tear’ – that is, damage that has happened gradually over time.
That’s why it’s really important you keep on top of these tasks to keep your property in good shape all year round.
Check the roof
It’s worth checking the roof to see if there are any damaged or missing tiles.
It’s best to repair these before the cold properly sets in as it can make the property vulnerable to extreme weather.
Guttering / drains
If it’s safe to do so, you should clear your guttering of any debris. If you don’t feel comfortable doing it yourself, you can get a handyman to do it for you.
It’s important to make sure all your drainage systems are unblocked.
Chimney
Do a quick check of the chimney to make sure it looks like it’s in good condition. Things to keep an eye out for are cracked bricks or if it’s leaning at an odd angle.
You should also check the chimney cap to make sure there’s no significant damage.
Again, if you don’t feel comfortable doing this yourself, organise a handyman.
Let your tenants know what to do
There’s only so much regular maintenance you can do when tenants are living at your property .
It’s important you communicate with them to make sure they’re taking the right steps to maintain the property this winter.
You should tell them to:
- check the heating’s working properly at the start of winter
- keep the property heated
- close the kitchen door when cooking, and use the extractor fans
- wipe condensation from windows
- inform you or whoever manages the property of any issues that come up as soon as possible
My property is currently unoccupied
If your property is currently unoccupied, it’s important you remember to check the unoccupancy limits on your landlord insurance.
This is how long your property can be left unoccupied before you lose cover.
We expect you to do regular checks on your property if you don’t have tenants in (ideally every seven days) and it’s a good idea to keep a written note of the checks you’ve carried out.
While it’s unoccupied, the water needs to be turned off at the mains and you need to make sure the system in the property has been drained.
Protect your property with landlord insurance
It’s worth investing in the right landlord insurance to protect yourself and your property.
Landlord insurance will protect you financially in a range of situations, whether that’s from damage to your property or issues with your tenants.
