About The Holiday Home Handbook

A second home has a habit of surprising you. The tap that dripped for three months, the shutter that never closed, the damp smell that was not there in June. Most of the problems are ordinary and most are avoidable, if somebody knows what to look for and when. This handbook collects that ordinary knowledge in one place and shows where it comes from.

What this site is

The Holiday Home Handbook is a set of plain-language guides on caring for a holiday home or any property that is empty for weeks or months. They run from the absence routine and arrival and departure checklists to cleaning, damp and mould, security and seasonal preparation.

Independent, and not a service

This is an independent publication. It does not clean, manage, inspect or maintain anyone's property, it does not arrange or recommend any such service, and it is not affiliated with any business, agency or property manager. If a page ever seems to promote a particular company, that is a mistake and we want to hear about it.

Who writes it

The guides are written and maintained by the Holiday Home Handbook editors, a small independent team. We do not claim professional credentials, trade experience or personal stories for any page. Where a guide states a fact, a figure or a recommendation, it comes from a public source named at the foot of that page, so you can check it yourself.

What it is not

It is general information, not legal, tax, insurance, medical or engineering advice. Rules and risks differ between countries and between properties, and some jobs, such as electrics, gas, water systems and large-scale mould, belong to qualified professionals. Your insurer and your local authority have the final word on what applies to you.

For how we choose and check sources, read the editorial standards.

The short version

An independent, sourced guide to looking after a home you cannot be in. It explains what to check and why, and it leaves the doing, and the paying, to you.