Whether you'll sell, rent it out or keep options open, the home you moved out of is unoccupied in your insurer's eyes. Cover changes after 30–60 days, and inspection conditions follow.
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The risk nobody plans for
It's a happy move — and an easy insurance gap. The empty house still has your name on the policy, but the policy may no longer have you covered.
Cover quietly narrows
Once you're not living there, standard cover typically shrinks after 30–60 days: escape of water, theft and vandalism are the usual exclusions. Exactly the risks an empty home faces most.
The in-between period drags
Deciding whether to sell or let, redecorating, waiting on the market — the 'few weeks' an ex-home stands empty routinely becomes six months or more.
Out of sight, out of mind
Life is at the new place now. Without a routine, weeks pass between visits — and problems at the old house get found late.
How Inspection Record fits the in-between
A routine that survives the move
Set the interval your unoccupied policy requires and let reminders drag you (or your partner) back to the old house on schedule.
Quick visits, real evidence
Ten minutes: check doors and windows, stopcock, boiler, walk the rooms, photograph as you go. Logged before you've locked up.
A record ready for the insurer
Dated entries with photos compile into a formal document — proof the inspection condition was met from the day the house became empty.
Useful beyond insurance
The same condition history is handy when you sell or let the property — you can show exactly how it's been maintained while empty.
What interval should you set?
Match your unoccupied policy — 14 days is the most common requirement, 7 for higher-risk properties or winter months. If you're still inside the standard policy's 30–60 day window, starting now builds the habit and the record early.
What insurers expect to see
Documented visits at the required interval, with evidence. If a pipe bursts in month four, the first question is when the property was last inspected — a photo-backed record answers it in seconds.
Common questions
Do I really need to tell my insurer I've moved out?
Yes. Occupancy is material information — staying silent risks having any claim refused entirely. Tell them the property is unoccupied and ask what cover and inspection conditions apply.
We're letting the house soon — is it worth setting this up?
Yes. 'Soon' regularly becomes months, the policy conditions apply the whole time, and the condition record you build is genuinely useful for the letting inventory.
Can my partner do some of the inspections?
Of course — whoever visits logs the entry, and everything stays in one record on one schedule.
New chapter, old house covered
Set the schedule once and keep the empty home insured, inspected and documented until you decide its future.
Start your inspection recordSet up in minutes. 2-week free trial on the monthly plan.