Family Member Living in my House but I Don’t - Insurance

strick206

Hello,

I’ve recently bought a house for my Grandad to live in, the mortgage company are aware I don’t plan to live in the property and that I also won’t be collecting any rental income from my Grandad

I have a question about Buildings Insurance, from reading up on this it suggests that normal residential buildings insurance is ok as there is no rental money changing hands and no tenancy agreement

But I’ve just seen a news article that contradicts that and now I’m confused

Lastly, do I or don’t I need things like gas safe certificates every year given it isn’t a landlord and tenant agreement

Must state I am perfectly happy here to do whatever I legally must do and simply I just don’t want to be uncovered should anything happen

Thanks in advance to anyone who may be able to help me

00ec25

why don't you ask your insurance company? It is their terms and conditions you must adhere to, not the thoughts of random internet musings

strick206

I have not yet got an insurance company so was looking to understand the process in general from people who may be in the know or have knowledge of it before I speak to people for quotes

Also, sure we have all or most of us not been told the wrong thing from time to time by well meaning call centre operators?

theartfullodger

Weirdly different insurers have different rules.

Funny that.

Speak to a specialist landlord insurance broker.

strick206

theartfullodger wrote: »

Weirdly different insurers have different rules.

Funny that.

Speak to a specialist landlord insurance broker.

Yes I agree, that’s very funny

Thanks

need_an_answer

strick206 wrote: »

Also, sure we have all or most of us not been told the wrong thing from time to time by well meaning call centre operators?

And likewise the wrong information is often suggested by well meaning internet folk

It really is best to speak to some insurance providers if you are not going to be the homeowner in occupation.

They may well want to steer you to a specific policy more aligned with a tenant type occupant or at least they will need to know the details of the occupant.

Again whether you need to comply with rental standards would be something for you to discuss at least with your grandfather together with issues like who deals with maintainence issues in the property,your responsibility to fix or his?

A few grey areas here so you will need to be clear who does what and when

strick206

need_an_answer wrote: »

And likewise the wrong information is often suggested by well meaning internet folk

Fully agree, just seen lots of very good stuff on here in my time so thought it best to try here first

Appreciate your response thank you, in terms of fixing the property. Everything will be me, I’m looking to have everything the same as if it was my property and I lived in it. He will not need to be concerned with any of that

Just reading through the policy requirements on some companies now, happy to ring one but ideally I’d like to shop around and get the best price as well which ringing one will not particularly help with. Which is the other reason I posted on here

Thanks again for your help

strick206

Done some more digging on here and found a similar situation discussing it that I missed earlier

Copied below for anyone else who may have the same situation

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5433571/house-insurance-i-own-but-dont-live-there

need_an_answer

By all means phone a few companies,although you may be better placed by approaching a broker who deals with more specialised policies.

I did something possibly a little similar with my mother who lived in a property that was owned by me but not occupied,but this was quite a few years ago and probably wouldn't be comparable nowadays.

I believe you need to go to a broker with details of the proposition and full details of yourself and the occupier and take it from there really.

The premiums will probably be based on tenant occupation criteria and age or whether there is a smoker in the house etc will always go against you in getting a lower premium.

strick206

Thanks again,

Just doing quotes with me as the occupant as comparison sites don!!!8217;t cover my situation and then I will work through the cheapest back until I get a suitable policy

Will do the same for landlords insurance as well

Did you have to get gas safe certificates every year for when your mother lived at one of your properties?

need_an_answer

strick206 wrote: »

Did you have to get gas safe certificates every year for when your mother lived at one of your properties?

Can't comment on the need for a gas safety certificate,in my case the property was all electric so not required.

However with my LL hat on,it is a requirement to obtain a CP12 gas safety certificate as well as smoke detectors and monoxide detectors.
Even if you decide not to go down that route officially it would be good practice to adopt.

A gas safety certificate needs to be issued annually and is a little like an MOT it covers a time and a place and is good to have done at the same time as the annual boiler service.
The certification costs around £60-75 and I believe that if you have an annual boiler service a similar thing is usually provided for domestic properties although it is not an actual requirement for every boiler to have an annual check unless it is specifically within a rented property.