Vacant Property Winterization & Utility Management
Preventing Catastrophic Damage in Empty Homes
The biggest threat to a vacant property isn’t always an intruder—it’s the plumbing. A single burst pipe or a gas leak in an empty home can go undetected for weeks, leading to total structural damage and rejected insurance claims.
VPI Security provides a professional “Utility Isolation & Drain Down” service to ensure your vacant property is protected against the elements and internal system failures.
Our “Property Mothballing” Services
1. Full Water System Drain-Down
Leaving standing water in pipes during a Thanet winter is a massive risk.
We isolate the main internal stopcock.
We drain the internal plumbing system (taps, tanks, and toilets).
“Do Not Use” Signage: We apply high-visibility waterproof tape and “System Drained” notices to all toilets and taps to prevent visiting contractors or agents from accidentally flooding the system.
2. Utility Isolation & Safety Audit
Gas & Electric: We ensure non-essential circuits are isolated while maintaining power to essential security alarms or external lighting.
Meter Verification: We take final, time-stamped photos of all meters to ensure you aren’t billed for usage after the property becomes vacant.
Visual Leak Audit: We check for existing “slow leaks” or damp that could worsen while the heating is off.
3. Frost Protection Monitoring
If you choose to keep the heating on to prevent damp, we perform weekly checks to ensure:
Thermostats are set to the correct “Frost Protect” level (usually 7°C).
Boilers haven’t locked out due to pressure loss.
Condensate pipes haven’t frozen during cold snaps.
The Benefit to You
Insurance Compliance: Many specialist empty-home insurance policies require the water to be turned off at the mains or drained down between October and April. We provide the proof that this has been done.
Contractor Management: Our “Do Not Use” tape prevents tradespeople or surveyors from using facilities that have been decommissioned.
Cost Savings: No more surprise utility bills or emergency call-out fees for burst pipes.
Pricing for Utility Services
| Service | Investment | Includes |
| Full System Drain-Down | £125.00 | Isolation, drainage, and “Do Not Use” signage. |
| Utility Isolation Only | £45.00 | Gas/Water/Electric turn-off & Meter Audit. |
| Weekly Frost Check | Included in Tier 3 | Monitoring boiler/thermostat status. |
Why Choose VPI?
“With 35 years in the security sector, I know that a vacant house needs to be ‘mothballed’ correctly to maintain its value. We take the technical steps to ensure that when you’re ready to sell or re-let, the property is in the same condition as the day you locked the door.”
— Ian Stevenson, VPI Security
Heating & Utilities Monitoring Disclaimer
1. Status Monitoring Only VPI Security provides a visual status check of the property’s utilities and heating systems. Our service is designed to identify visible failures (such as a boiler “lockout” light or a drop in pressure on a gauge). We are not qualified Gas Safe or NICEIC engineers and do not perform mechanical or electrical repairs.
2. Mechanical Failure VPI Security shall not be held liable for the mechanical or electrical failure of any boiler, pump, or heating component due to age, wear and tear, or pre-existing faults. Our role is to report the failure to the client; we do not guarantee that the heating system will remain operational.
3. Frost Protection Limits While we verify that thermostats are set to frost-protection levels, we cannot guarantee the prevention of burst pipes in the event of a total boiler failure, power outage, or extreme weather conditions beyond the system’s capacity.
4. Drain-Down Service Where a “System Drain-Down” is requested, VPI Security will isolate the mains and drain internal pipework to the best of our ability. We are not liable for water retained in “dead-legs” of plumbing.
Q&A
Q: Do I need to tell my insurance company about you? A: Yes. In fact, most insurers will be pleased to see you have a professional contract in place. We provide the time-stamped, geo-tagged reports they require to keep your policy valid.
Q: What happens if you find a major leak or a break-in? A: We follow the “Found a Problem” protocol. We immediately secure the property and call you with a live update and a photo. As certified locksmiths, we can usually fix security breaches on the spot.
Q: Do you hold my keys securely? A: Yes. All keys are held in a secure, coded facility or a police-approved on-site Key Safe. We never attach the property address to the keys themselves.