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Closing up the house for winter.
The absentee owner's checklist, before the first storm.
18 Aug 2026 · 3 min read
A Cyprus house left alone from October to April will spend the winter quietly working against you. Damp is the main event. The island's winters are wetter than its reputation, and a shut house with no moving air grows mould like a hobby. The whole checklist is an afternoon's work.
Water off at the mains. One corroded valve or perished hose is all it takes. Most winter disasters here are plumbing, and most start while nobody's home.
The pool, decided. Either winterise it or keep it maintained. The worst option is neither. A green pool in March costs more to recover than a winter of weekly visits.
Air, moving. Internal doors open, wardrobes ajar, moisture traps in the damp corners. If the house has a dehumidifier, this is its season.
The fridge, empty and open. Unplug it, prop the door. Everyone forgets once. Nobody forgets twice.
The garden doesn't stop. Cyprus gardens grow all winter. Arrange the visits now, or come back in spring to a jungle and a pointed letter from the neighbours.
Someone local, with a key. After the first big storm, someone should walk the house: shutters, ceilings, pool cover, anything the wind rearranged. Check your insurance too: some policies expect the property checked at intervals while it's empty.
The car, kept alive. A trickle charger, or a neighbour who starts it monthly. Batteries hate abandonment.
Spring, booked in autumn. Book the air-conditioning service for April before you leave. Everyone else remembers in June.
Members hand Mel the key and get the same list done with photographs: the storm check, the pool, the garden, the plumber before it became a ceiling. The house you come back to in spring should be the one you locked in autumn.