Property information & advice
protecting property from the results of freezing
We recently wrote to all our tenants to remind them of the essential precautions to be taken to protect properties from the results of freezing. We are anxious to save our tenants and landlords possible costly damage. In a recent case, where adequate precautions were not taken, there was a resultant damage in excess of £20,000 in a property where pipes had frozen and then burst causing extensive flooding.
Over the holiday period, many tenants will wish to go away and visit relatives and friends. We would ask you to observe some simple precautions if you intend to be away from the property for longer than 24 hours during the winter period (from the beginning of November to the end of April). For most properties it will be necessary to:
- Keep the central heating on a low or normal setting to maintain a temperature of between 55/60 degrees F and leave the trap door to roof space open; or
- Turn off the water supply and shut down and drain any central heating boiler and associated pipework. To do this, you will need to turn off the water supply at the main stopcock and open all taps, hot and cold, to drain water from roof storage tanks and pipes.
- Circulating water central heating systems will also need to be drained (and refilled on return before re-starting).
Whilst this is general advice, the characteristics of each individual property may be slightly different. If you are unsure how to take appropriate measures to protect the property whilst you are away, or if you plan to be away for a week or more, please do not hesitate to contact us.
