How to Tell the Buildings Insurer the House Is Empty — or Let Again

Keys are back, and the buildings policy still describes the house as occupied. Send a dated email today with the last night anyone slept there. Ask this insurer, in writing, for the unoccupied-day threshold, the inspection interval, and the winter or heating condition. File their confirmation with the current policy schedule, then send a second notice when keys go out again.

Sunday at Hugo’s one let in Bath. Keys came back Friday. He opens the schedule: it still says occupied, and there is no sent email headed “property now unoccupied”. He could wait for a remembered thirty days, or he can send two lines today: last night anyone slept there was Thursday; please confirm in writing the threshold, how often you want the house inspected, and the winter condition.

Nobody can answer “when did you tell us it was empty?” when a pipe bursts in week three. There is no UK statute that starts a thirty-day unoccupied clock on keys-back. The Financial Ombudsman Service, last updated 10 July 2026, only says home policies usually drop some cover after 30 or 60 days — dispute context, not a landlord deadline. Typical mistake: sitting on an empty house waiting for a figure that is not even yours.

Disclaimer: IziRento is operations software, not legal advice. Local tenancy rules vary; check a qualified adviser for binding decisions.

When to email that the house is empty?

Send the occupancy email on the day keys change, not after a vacancy threshold. The unoccupied-day clock, if any, lives in this schedule. Waiting until day 29 is how the file stays empty while the house is already empty. Open the current policy PDF first and note the insurer or broker and the policy number.

Do write the occupancy notice as soon as the tenancy ends, or as soon as you know it will. Direct Line for Business tells landlords to inform them if the property becomes unoccupied during the term; on that product, after 30 days they will not cover escape of water. LetSafe, last reviewed 2 September 2026, says notify in writing as soon as the tenancy ends — do not wait until after the threshold. Those figures are ask-your-insurer examples, not a statute.

Do not wait for a universal thirty-day rule. The keys-back count itself belongs on keys and fobs handover file. Copy the last-slept night from that handover into today’s email. For example, Hugo’s last-slept night is Thursday even if he only opened the diary on Sunday.

What to write as the occupancy date?

Put a last-slept date in the email, not the word “void”. Write the property address, the policy or schedule number, the last night anyone slept there, and the tenancy-end date if that is different. Add one line of reason — between lets, or works — and say you are notifying in writing.

Do write the last-slept date so they can start their clock. CertNudge, 20 August 2026, says record the date and time the property became unoccupied and why. A viewing or contractor attending does not automatically mean occupied, and it does not automatically mean the required inspection happened. If keys came back Friday and the last sleep was Thursday, write Thursday.

Which three questions should you ask back in writing?

Ask three questions in that same email. What is the unoccupied-day threshold on this policy — how many consecutive empty days this wording counts? What inspection interval applies, and what counts as an inspection? What winter, heating or drain-down condition applies? Ask them to reply in writing, then copy their answers into the diary.

Do treat 30, 45 and 60 as product examples. Direct Line for Business’s landlord booklet from 1 June 2026 treats premises as “Vacant or Disused” after 30 consecutive days and wants inspection every 7 days, with winter heat at a minimum 10°C from 1 October to 31 March. AXA’s Residential Landlord summary says a building is empty after 45 consecutive days and you must tell them immediately. Do not prescribe heating versus drain-down: ask which condition applies, then do that one.

How do you file the confirmation with the schedule?

File the sent email plus their confirmation with the policy schedule — the current policy PDF. Name it occupancy-notify-unoccupied-YYYY-MM-DD. If they only take calls, send the email first, call, then email a two-line recap the same day and keep the sent item. A phone note is not a file.

Do file correspondence. LetSafe: verbal assurances from insurance staff are unenforceable. If you only have a broker, email them the same text and ask them to notify the insurer and return the insurer’s written confirmation. Vasek’s Tenanted Property IPID, May 2026, says tell them or your broker if the property becomes unoccupied or unfurnished. The risk is a phone note with no sent item. In practice: clip the thread next to the PDF before you leave the desk.

What to send when the house is let again?

Send a second email the day keys go out. Put the first night occupied, or the tenancy-start date. If the schedule last showed a tenant type, name the new one. Ask whether this is a mid-term adjustment — a change they review and accept during the policy year — an endorsement coming off, or a new schedule. File the reply as occupancy-notify-occupied-YYYY-MM-DD.

Do write that the house is tenanted again. Direct Line for Business: cover is restricted while unoccupied, so let them know when the property becomes tenanted. Simply Business: if a new tenant moves in and their employment status differs, tell us immediately. Just Landlords: mid-term adjustments include notifying that a property is now unoccupied and changing the tenant type; they take effect only once reviewed and accepted.

Success bar: Sunday opens one occupancy-disclosure file with the dated email, their written answers, and the second notice when let again. Verify that checklist, then stop. Workflow: keys-back email → last-slept date → three questions → confirmation clipped to the schedule → occupied-again email. Meter and supplier jobs live on void-period utilities. An IziRento workspace can hold the schedule and occupancy thread.