How To Protect Your Vacant Property During Winter

Properties change in character when they become vacant and even more so when when the seasons shift and the days become shorter and darker. This is when managing a vacant property becomes a much more challenging issue and you need to take extra precautions to manage risks such as security and health and safety effectively.

Regardless of why the property is vacant, in most cases your objective should be to manage the building and maintain it in good condition, because, at short notice, the property may need to be used again. With this in mind, we have outlined the key issues with managing a vacant property over the winter months, and have made some recommendations on how you can address this.

What Are The Main Challenges With Managing A Vacant Property Over Winter?

• Daylight hours – The property will be in darkness for more hours of the day, and this may attract unwanted security issues such as trespass, nuisance, vandalism and theft.
• Public – There will be a drop in regular pedestrian footfall over winter and therefore there may be fewer people passing by or walking around the nearby streets who would normally raise an alarm if they identified a security issue, or who would act as a passive deterrent. This is particularly noticeable over the festive period when a lots of businesses are closed or running on reduced staffing.
• Weather – Cold weather and persistent rain can start to deteriorate the condition and structure of the building if it is not being looked after. Wind and ice can also cause structural damage during winter. Falling leaves from surrounding trees may also lead to gutters and drains blocking up and these can overflow and cause issues if no one is monitoring the building.
• Health and safety issues – Issues such as frozen pipes, water leaks and power failures can occur in bad weather, this can cause subsequent issues internally with damp and water damage, while electrical issues can also lead to a number of internal problems.

Of course these seasonal issues are also added to the normal challenges of managing a vacant property, which means a dedicated management plan for vacant properties over winter is something every business should be considering.

A Management Plan For A Vacant Property Over Winter

When the temperatures start to drop and the days get shorter, you need to think about how this impacts on a vacant property and how you can adjust your plans for security and health and safety accordingly. Comprehensive winter protection services will provide the attention and safeguarding required to ensure your assets are protected, costly damage is avoided, compliance is ensured and the vacant property remains in a condition whereby it can be occupied again at short notice. This should involve:

• Water systems – Drain the systems down so there isn’t any water sitting in pipes. This can freeze and expand which can burst pipes and cause leaks.
• Inspections – Routine inspections of the building to check utilities and other health and safety issues.
• Security presence – To account for the location and the increase in darkness hours, there should be comprehensive site patrols to identify any security breaches or potential breaches.
• Preventive maintenance – Proactive cleaning and inspection checks of structural items, systems and equipment to ensure everything is in working order and no safety issues have arisen.
• Response – You should ensure there is a system in place to quickly respond to alarm activations on a 24/7 basis and to deal with security issues.

Other Considerations For A Vacant Property During Winter

Some other considerations when managing a vacant property over winter could include:

• Heating – Keeping heating on very low to enable the system to tick over and to prevent pipes bursting can be beneficial. This can also help to prevent damp forming in a vacant property and helps to make the building feel lived in and ready to be reoccupied as soon as possible. Make sure you consult your insurer to check they agree to the heating being on.
• Insulate – Putting insulation around external and some internal pipes can prevent them freezing, if you don’t want to drain water from your systems, or if you are still running some water systems.
• Upgrade security – You could consider whether other existing security solutions are adequate, such as alarm systems, locks, shutters and CCTV, and whether these need upgrading to allow for the additional security threats over winter.
• External maintenance – Clear gutters of leaves and debris and have a roof inspection carried out before the bad weather hits.

If your property is going to be vacant for an extended period of time you need assurances that the key issues are being looked after and that you have 24/7 peace of mind. A comprehensive winter protection services plan will address the critical issues and ensure the additional challenges faced by managing a vacant property over winter are managed with due consideration.

At First Response Group we can tailor a plan to suit the unique needs of your vacant property and the challenges faced by its location. Our professional teams can be rapidly deployed to protect your vacant property and our proactive management ensures it is suitably safeguarded over winter and is properly maintained ready for reoccupation.  So contact our team to talk about winter protection services today.