What temperature should I keep a vacant house at in winter?

Most plumbers and insurers recommend never letting the thermostat drop below 55°F (about 13°C), even in unoccupied rooms — pipes inside exterior walls can freeze well before the air in the middle of the room feels cold.

Does homeowners insurance cover frozen pipe damage in a vacant property?

Often not automatically. Many standard policies limit or exclude burst-pipe coverage once a property has been vacant beyond a set number of consecutive days (commonly 30 to 60), unless you've taken specific precautions like maintaining heat or shutting off and draining the water system. Check your specific policy's vacancy clause before assuming you're covered.

Is it better to shut off the water completely in a vacant home?

For a property that will sit empty for an extended period, shutting off the main water supply and draining the pipes removes the freeze risk entirely — no water in the pipes means nothing to freeze or burst. This isn't practical for a short-term rental between bookings, but it's the most reliable option for a property vacant for weeks or months.

Vacant & Vacation Properties · Last updated August 1, 2026

How to Prevent Frozen Pipes in a Vacant or Vacation Home

A burst pipe in a home you live in gets found within hours. A burst pipe in a property nobody's checking can run for days — and by the time anyone finds it, the damage is already extensive.

By the DryLine Home Team — background in water damage restoration

This guide contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you — see our full disclosure.

Why an empty property freezes faster than you'd think

A pipe doesn't need the whole house to feel cold to freeze — it needs the specific spot it's running through to drop below 32°F, and pipes inside exterior walls, crawl spaces, or unheated areas get there well before the air in the middle of a room does. In an occupied home, the furnace runs on a normal schedule and someone would notice if the heat failed. In a vacant property, a dead thermostat battery, a tripped breaker, or a furnace malfunction can go unnoticed for the entire time nobody's there — which is exactly the scenario that turns a cold snap into a burst pipe.

What actually works

Four real prevention methods, not just folk wisdom

Never let the thermostat drop below 55°F

This is the standard most insurers and plumbers point to. It's not about comfort — it's the minimum that keeps pipes inside exterior walls above freezing even when the rest of the house feels chilly.

Shut off and drain the system for extended vacancy

For a property sitting empty for weeks or months, this beats heating an empty house the whole time. No water in the pipes means nothing to freeze. Not practical for a short-term rental with regular bookings, but the most reliable option for a true seasonal vacancy.

Insulate exposed pipes in unheated spaces

Crawl spaces, garages, and attics are where pipes freeze first because they're outside the home's main heating zone. Foam pipe insulation is cheap and takes an afternoon to install once, and it keeps working every winter after.

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Add a remote-monitored temperature sensor

A thermostat can fail silently. A separate WiFi temperature sensor that alerts your phone if the house drops below a set threshold — regardless of what the thermostat itself is doing — catches a heating failure before it becomes a frozen pipe, not after.

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Check your insurance policy's vacancy clause before you need it

This is the part most people skip until it's too late to matter. Many standard homeowners policies limit or exclude burst-pipe coverage once a property has sat vacant past a set number of consecutive days — commonly somewhere between 30 and 60 — unless specific precautions were documented, like maintained heat or a drained system. If you own a seasonal vacation home or a rental between long-term tenants, call your insurer and ask directly what their vacancy clause actually requires. Finding out after a claim is denied is the worst possible time to learn this.

If you're managing a short-term rental specifically

Full shutoff between bookings isn't always realistic when guests need water on arrival, so remote monitoring matters more here than for a true seasonal vacancy. A combination of a leak sensor at high-risk spots and a temperature sensor covers both failure modes — water where it shouldn't be, and cold where it shouldn't be. See our full short-term rental guide for the complete setup, including the vacant-period gap this same freeze risk sits inside.

FAQ

Common questions

What temperature should I keep it at?

Never below 55°F — pipes in exterior walls can freeze before the room itself feels cold.

Does insurance cover this automatically?

Often not — many policies limit coverage after a set number of vacant days unless precautions were taken. Check your policy's vacancy clause directly.

Should I just shut the water off completely?

For extended vacancy, yes — draining the system removes the freeze risk entirely. Not practical for a short-term rental with regular bookings, though.