Knowledge
The house stands empty. What matters in the first weeks.
After a move into care, or while an estate waits for probate, a house often stands without residents for months. The good news first: no one has to decide about selling or keeping in these weeks. A few things about the house itself, however, carry a quiet deadline — this guide puts them in order. Updated July 2026 · General orientation, not individual legal advice (§ 3 RDG).
Reassurance first
First the people, then the papers, then — at some point — the house. That order is right, and it may take its time. The weighing of keeping, letting or selling belongs in the third or fourth month, not in the first weeks. What needs attention in the first weeks is not the question of assets but the substance: the insurance, the water, the frost, a watchful eye.
A house that waits still costs — every month, and after 60 days possibly its insurance cover.
The insurer’s quiet deadline
For the buildings insurer an uninhabited house is an increase of risk (section 23 VVG): a pipe freezes sooner, a small damage goes unnoticed for longer. That is why a duty of notification applies — depending on the contract, often from around 60 days of vacancy. The notification itself is usually straightforward; cover generally continues, sometimes with conditions. Only silence is dangerous: whoever fails to report the vacancy, or to meet the agreed duties, risks a reduction or even the loss of the payout when damage occurs.
Three duties are typical: shut off the water and drain the pipes, heat or frost-protect in the cold season, and check the house regularly and verifiably — with a date, ideally with a photo. What your own contract requires is set out under “increase of risk” or “policyholder duties”; a short letter to the insurer settles it bindingly.
What an empty house costs
Even without residents the base load keeps running: charges, insurance, a floor of energy use — plus small damages that grow unnoticed. These costs are no reason for haste, but they are a reason for order: whoever knows them, and knows the house is looked after, can let the real decision mature calmly. A looked-after house keeps every path open — keeping, letting and selling remain equally possible.
For inherited houses one particularity applies: certain insulation duties under the Building Modernisation Act carry a two-year period that begins with the transfer of ownership — that is, with the death — not only once the certificate of inheritance arrives (Section 35 GModG). This too is no alarm, just an item for the deadlines note.
What a waiting house carries each month
An illustration of the running base load of an empty house — and a short overview of the three insurance duties.
No reason for haste — a reason for order.
Leaving this empty is fine — we then estimate roughly.
Everything is computed on your device only. Nothing is sent and nothing is stored.
Illustration
The base load, roughly estimated
—per month — an illustrative range, not a statement of account
Across a year: —
How we calculate
An energy base load depending on the year built and winter operation (rules of thumb per m²), plus insurance and property tax (your yearly figures, otherwise rough per-m² estimates) and a small floor for electricity and sundries. Deliberately a range — the real figures are in your documents.
A looked-after house keeps every decision open — keeping, letting and selling remain equally possible. And for those who would rather not carry the duties themselves: home in safekeeping takes them on, cancellable monthly.
An illustration, not a forecast and not a service-charge statement. The actual amounts are in your documents and contracts.
If you like, we will put this in order together. Talk to us.
The first steps, in order
- Clarify who may act. A power of attorney, a guardianship, or the community of heirs. Necessary measures of preservation may be taken by any co-heir (section 2038 BGB).
- Report the vacancy to the buildings insurer — briefly, in writing, with a date.
- Shut off the water, drain the pipes, set the heating to frost protection.
- Agree a rhythm of checks: who looks after the house when, and how it is recorded.
- Put post, keys and responsibilities in order. An overflowing letterbox shows everyone that nobody is watching.
- And: sell nothing in haste. Why haste almost always costs.
In probate, the waiting is part of it
The certificate of inheritance takes time. The house keeps costing. Both can be put in order — step by step. Two to six months of waiting are normal, and no one can honestly shorten them. What can be ordered is the in-between time: the duties at the house, the deadlines of the first months, the understanding among co-heirs. More on the certificate and the land register.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I really have to tell the insurer that the house stands empty?
- Yes. Vacancy is an increase of risk, and the duty to notify is part of most buildings policies — often with a threshold around 60 days. The notification usually costs little or nothing; silence can cost the cover when damage occurs.
- How often does someone have to look after the house?
- The contract sets this — a regular rhythm is usual, roughly weekly to fortnightly, verifiable with a date. What matters is less the number than the reliability and the record.
- Three of us inherit — who may look after the house?
- Necessary measures of preservation — informing the insurer, setting the frost protection, having a leak sealed — may be taken by any co-heir (section 2038 BGB). Everything beyond that the community of heirs decides together. To the guide for communities of heirs.
Read on
If you would rather not carry this yourself: home in safekeeping — checks, insurance duties and costs in one hand, cancellable monthly.
This article provides orientation and does not replace legal or insurance advice; what your own contract requires is settled by the policy wording or a conversation with the insurer.
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