Record where the visit happened
Mark current location at the front door. With the date and time on the form, it records that the inspection was made at this property, which helps if the insurer asks.
How GPS location works →Form library · Housing and property
Unoccupied property inspection checklist
A regular inspection of an empty property, built around insurers' unoccupancy conditions. Record when it became empty and the form shows the days empty, then the insurer, policy number and the inspection interval the policy requires; the form warns when the last inspection was too long ago. Check doors, windows, signs of entry, roof and gutters, rubbish and the garden, then inside: whether the water is drained or the heating on, leaks, damp, pests and alarms, post removed and meter readings, with photos. Every question is listed below, and you can fill the live form in on this page.
Ready to use from the form library, and every question is yours to edit. Trial from £1, cancel any time.
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See it on this phoneEvery question is editable. Add this form to your account, then change the wording, add or remove questions and options, and make it fit your own jobs.
How often should an empty property be inspected?
It depends on the insurance policy. The Financial Ombudsman Service says most home insurance policies stop covering things like theft, malicious damage and escape of water once a home has been unoccupied for a set period, usually 30 or 60 days. Some policies keep cover if conditions are met: one policy in an Ombudsman decision needed weekly inspections and, from October to March, the water drained or the heating kept on. Check the policy wording and keep dated records.
Last updated . Facts checked by the SiteSurvey team on 17 October 2026 against Financial Ombudsman Service: unoccupied properties and Financial Ombudsman Service decision DRN-4749038 (unoccupancy conditions on a home policy).
Built for the insurer's regular visits
Each visit to the empty building takes a few minutes on a phone: mark your position at the front door, check the outside and the inside, photograph anything wrong and raise an action. The form works out the days since the last visit and counts the defects.
Defects and days counted
Each check marked Defect adds to the count, a reminder asks for an action with an owner and a due date, and the form works out the days empty and the days since the last inspection against the policy interval.
How calculated fields work →
Photos of every visit
Photograph the front, the entrance, each floor, the meters and each defect, so every visit has its own dated set of photos in the report.
Walk Cam round the outside
The form has a Walk Cam field. Record the elevations, the entrance and the grounds on each visit and say what you see; the words become the written answer.
How Walk Cam works →A completed unoccupied property inspection
A weekly visit to a fictional empty office in Wakefield: a cracked side light by the front door, fly-tipped sacks by the bins, a fence panel down and a new damp stain on a ceiling, with four actions still open.
Try the unoccupied property inspection form live
Answer a few questions and watch it adapt. Your answers are not saved, and any photos you add are deleted within the hour.
Live form: Vacant Property InspectionOpen full screen ↗
See a filled-in example
Open the completed example to see fictional readings, notes, photos and calculations. Choose Blank form to try entering your own answers.
Want to see one filled in? See a completed unoccupied property inspection report (PDF), made by SiteSurvey from a fictional site visit.
Walk Cam route · four guided clips
Record the unoccupied property inspection on video
Show what changed between visits. Follow the same route, film accessible rooms and the outside, and give the property manager a precise location for each concern.
Identify the property, visit date and last known condition. Record the same accessible route on each visit and escalate concerns through the owner's process. Note every area you could not enter safely.
POINT 01
Exterior and roofline from ground
Show the front elevation and accessible sides from a safe position. Locate visible damage, staining or loose materials without entering an unsafe area.
A gutter section looks displaced and staining is visible on adjacent brickwork.
POINT 02
Doors, windows and security signs
Film accessible entrances, frames and glazing. Describe visible damage and signs of interference; do not claim that locks or alarms were tested.
A loose letterbox flap and small cracked pane are visible at the entrance.
POINT 03
Accessible rooms and visible leaks
Follow the agreed internal route only where access is safe. Record room identity, visible marks and any changed condition. Do not diagnose the cause of damp from video.
A brown mark and peeling paint are visible near an upstairs ceiling corner.
POINT 04
Rear grounds and boundaries
Show accessible paths, vegetation and boundary features. Locate overgrowth or damage that needs attention and note any area you cannot see.
Vegetation is overgrown and parts of the rear boundary are obscured from view.
See the footage in a report
A fictional six-page example with the four points, twelve stills from the clips, observations, follow-up actions and the limits of a visual record.
View the visual evidence (PDF) ↗ · Download the full sample report
This is a record of accessible visible condition at the visit. It does not test locks, services, moisture sources, structural safety or compliance with an insurance policy. Example footage was generated in Google Flow and the observations are scripted; no real site is shown. Walk Cam works inside any form in the app. How Walk Cam works · All visual inspections
For teams
Using the unoccupied property inspection template for client work?
A printable template works for the odd job. When your team does this every week, SiteSurvey keeps every visit in one place and turns each one into a report you can send.
- Everyone fills in the same form on their phone, with photos attached to the answer they belong to.
- Each visit becomes a branded PDF report for the client, with no retyping.
- Every site, visit and report is kept together in one account, not scattered across email and shared drives.
Every question in the unoccupied property inspection template
A vacant and unoccupied property inspection for insurers' conditions: days empty, inspection interval, security, signs of entry, roof and gutters, water drained or heating on, leaks and damp, post, meter readings and photos. 4 sections and 65 questions. Follow-up questions and guidance appear only when an answer calls for them, so the person on site never sees the ones that do not apply.
Make it your own: every question is editable
This is a starting point, not a fixed form. Once it is in your SiteSurvey account you can reword any question, add or remove questions, sections and answer options, and add your own logo, so it fits the way your team works and the jobs you do.
Details you only enter once
Add this form to a project in SiteSurvey and it fills in what the project already knows, so nobody on site retypes it and every form on the job uses the same names. Anything filled in can still be changed.
- Project: the project name
- Client: the project's customer
- Site: the site, when the form is opened for a space or a product
- Site address: the site address, from the space or the project
Property
- ProjectShort answerFills in from the project name
- ClientShort answerFills in from the project's customer
- Site*Short answerFills in from the site, when the form is opened for a space or a product
- Site addressShort answerFills in from the site address, from the space or the project
- Inspection date*Date
- TimeTime
- Inspected by*Short answer
- Your position at the property (GPS)Short answer
Mark it at the front door. It records that the visit happened at this property, with the date and time above.
- Empty sinceDate
- Days emptyWorked out by the formShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- CheckThe empty since date is after the inspection date. Check the dates.Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Insurer and policy numberShort answer
- Inspection interval in the policyChoose one
- Every 7 days
- Every 14 days
- Every 30 days
- Not known
- Date of the last inspectionDate
- Days since the last inspectionWorked out by the formShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- CheckThe last inspection date is after this inspection date. Check the dates.Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
- WarningLonger than the policy's inspection interval. If the policy conditions are not met, the insurer may refuse a claim: check the policy wording.Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
- GuidanceFinancial Ombudsman Service: most home insurance policies stop covering things like theft, malicious damage and escape of water once a home has been unoccupied for a set period, usually 30 or 60 days. Some policies keep cover if conditions are met, such as regular inspections and, in winter, draining the water system or keeping the heating on at a minimum temperature. Check the policy wording.
Outside and security
- Doors and locks secureChoose one
- OK
- Defect
- Not applicable
- What is wrong?Short answerShown when “Doors and locks secure” is “Defect”
- Photo of the defectPhotosShown when “Doors and locks secure” is “Defect”
- Windows and boarding intactChoose one
- OK
- Defect
- Not applicable
- What is wrong?Short answerShown when “Windows and boarding intact” is “Defect”
- Photo of the defectPhotosShown when “Windows and boarding intact” is “Defect”
- No signs of entry or squattingChoose one
- OK
- Defect
- Not applicable
- What is wrong?Short answerShown when “No signs of entry or squatting” is “Defect”
- Photo of the defectPhotosShown when “No signs of entry or squatting” is “Defect”
- Roof, gutters and downpipesChoose one
- OK
- Defect
- Not applicable
- What is wrong?Short answerShown when “Roof, gutters and downpipes” is “Defect”
- Photo of the defectPhotosShown when “Roof, gutters and downpipes” is “Defect”
- No rubbish or fly-tippingChoose one
- OK
- Defect
- Not applicable
- What is wrong?Short answerShown when “No rubbish or fly-tipping” is “Defect”
- Photo of the defectPhotosShown when “No rubbish or fly-tipping” is “Defect”
- Garden and boundariesChoose one
- OK
- Defect
- Not applicable
- What is wrong?Short answerShown when “Garden and boundaries” is “Defect”
- Photo of the defectPhotosShown when “Garden and boundaries” is “Defect”
- Outside: defects foundWorked out by the form
Inside
- Water system*Choose one
- Drained and water off at the mains
- Heating on at a minimum temperature
- Neither
- WarningCheck the policy: some require the water system to be drained, or the heating kept on at a minimum temperature, to prevent burst pipes.Shown when “Water system” is “Neither”
- Indoor temperature (°C)NumberShown when “Water system” is “Heating on at a minimum temperature”
- No leaks or water damageChoose one
- OK
- Defect
- Not applicable
- What is wrong?Short answerShown when “No leaks or water damage” is “Defect”
- Photo of the defectPhotosShown when “No leaks or water damage” is “Defect”
- No damp or mouldChoose one
- OK
- Defect
- Not applicable
- What is wrong?Short answerShown when “No damp or mould” is “Defect”
- Photo of the defectPhotosShown when “No damp or mould” is “Defect”
- No pestsChoose one
- OK
- Defect
- Not applicable
- What is wrong?Short answerShown when “No pests” is “Defect”
- Photo of the defectPhotosShown when “No pests” is “Defect”
- Intruder alarm workingChoose one
- OK
- Defect
- Not applicable
- What is wrong?Short answerShown when “Intruder alarm working” is “Defect”
- Photo of the defectPhotosShown when “Intruder alarm working” is “Defect”
- Defects found on this visitWorked out by the form
- CheckEach defect needs an action with an owner and a due date on the next page. Tell the insurer about any break-in, escape of water or damage, as the policy requires.Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Post and free papers removed?Yes or No
- Electricity readingShort answer
- Gas readingShort answer
- Photos (each room, meters, any issues)Photos
- Walk Cam: vacant property visual inspectionWalk Cam video with voice-to-text
Optional. Film the four guided points on the SiteSurvey app; each clip keeps its spoken note.
Actions and sign-off
- Are further actions needed?Yes or No
- Further actionsRepeat for each action. Each one asks:Shown when “Are further actions needed?” is Yes
- What needs doing?*Notes
- PriorityChoose one
- Urgent
- High
- Medium
- Low
- Who will do it?Short answer
- Due dateDate
- StatusChoose one
- Open
- In progress
- Completed
- Actions still openWorked out by the formShown when “Are further actions needed?” is Yes
- Next inspection dueDate
The inspection date plus the interval in the policy.
- Days to the next inspectionWorked out by the formShown when “Inspection date” is answered and “Next inspection due” is answered
- CheckThe next due date is before the date of this visit. Check the date.Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
- CheckThe next inspection is later than the interval in the policy allows. Bring it forward.Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Inspector name*Short answer
- Position or companyShort answer
- Inspector signatureSignature
- CheckSigning records what was found on the day. It does not make unsafe equipment safe or replace a thorough examination, design check or service by a competent person.
See it filled in
A completed unoccupied property inspection report, made by SiteSurvey from a fictional site visit: every answer, the photos, the guidance that applied and the sign-off, ready to send as a PDF.
Unoccupied property inspection FAQs
Does the form check the inspection interval?
Yes. Choose the interval in the policy and enter the last inspection date. The form warns when it has been longer than the interval.
Should the water be drained?
Some policies ask for the water system to be turned off at the mains and drained, or the heating kept on at a minimum temperature, to prevent burst pipes. The form records which was done and the indoor temperature.
What about post and rubbish?
Remove post and check for rubbish or fly-tipping at each visit. The Financial Ombudsman Service says it is unlikely to support a claim where a property was so neglected that it could attract unwelcome attention.
How is it different from a void inspection?
A void property inspection assesses the home for re-letting. This checklist is the repeated security and condition check while it stays empty.
Can I keep a photo history?
Yes. Each inspection has dated photos, so changes over time are clear for insurers and owners. In the Ombudsman decision above, the insurer was found reasonable to decline the claim because the evidence did not show the heating condition had been met.
Who uses this?
Landlords, letting agents, housing associations, property guardians, executors and commercial property managers.
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