Renovation & Insurance Displacement
Nobody is living there while the work happens.
Properties empty because of a renovation, a claim or restoration work — monitored while the trades come and go.
A property empty because of work being done on it is a distinctive kind of vacancy. It is unoccupied but not undisturbed — trades are in and out, doors are unlocked during the day, systems may be partly disconnected, utilities may be off, and the building envelope may be open in places.
This is also the situation where owners are most stretched. If you are displaced by a claim you are living somewhere else, dealing with an insurer, coordinating restoration, and trying to keep track of a property you no longer sleep in. Monitoring visits give you an independent, dated record of the property's condition through the process, separate from anyone performing or paying for the work.
Renovation vacancies have their own risks: heat off or inconsistent in winter, water lines opened and capped, dust and debris, materials on site, and a property that is visibly unoccupied and full of tools.
One clear boundary. VacantHomes is not an insurer, not an adjuster, not a restoration contractor and not a public adjuster. It does not assess damage, scope a loss, negotiate with an insurer or advise on a claim. It attends the property, documents what is there, and coordinates access — which is genuinely useful, and entirely separate from the claim itself.
What actually goes wrong
Vacant during work, insured differently
Properties under renovation or subject to a claim frequently fall outside standard policy terms. Speak to your broker specifically about the work period.
Access all day, every day
Trades in and out means doors unlocked and a property open in a way an ordinary vacancy is not.
Heat and water partly disconnected
A house mid-renovation in a Calgary winter with intermittent heat is a freeze risk with extra steps.
An independent record
Documentation of condition through the process, made by someone not performing or paying for the work.
Services
What this usually involves
In roughly the order people add them.
Vacant Home Checks
Scheduled physical visits to an unoccupied property, with a timestamped photo record and a written report after every visit.
Photo Documentation
A timestamped photographic record from each visit, kept as a running visual history of the property.
Video Property Walkthrough
A recorded continuous walkthrough showing the current condition of the property, room by room.
Temperature & Freeze-Risk Observation
A recorded interior temperature reading at each visit, with freeze-risk observations through the Alberta winter.
Contractor Access & Attendance
A representative opens the property for a scheduled trade or professional, logs arrival and departure, and secures it afterwards.
Weather Event Check
An additional visit booked after hail, wind, heavy snow or extreme cold, documenting any impact on the property.
Calgary communities where this is common
Need someone at the house?
Tell us what the property needs. Direct services throughout Greater Calgary.