You will be away from your flat for an extended period but want to return to everyday life as organised as possible. Besides packed suitcases, there are ongoing appointments, bills, personal documents and possibly already agreed works. This editorial planning guide concerns a limited absence in Austria and Germany. It does not create a general duty to check, does not interpret any insurance condition and does not contain technical instructions for water, heating or electrical systems.
Plan a finite process
First note the intended period and what actually must be completed before departure. Distinguish tasks that can be finished from processes that will continue during your absence. For example, an already scheduled repair appointment belongs in a different category from the usual shopping on your return.
Keep the plan clear. For each continuing matter, initially record the reason, the responsible contact and the next expected step. Do not invent additional supervision just because the flat will not be used for a while. Which concrete measures are necessary because of the condition of the property, a contract or insurance terms will be clarified on the basis of these actual facts.
Make regular routines and outstanding appointments visible
Go through the obligations already known: payments, expected important post, agreed maintenance or responses to an existing process. Check which things you can also handle remotely yourself and where another solution is required. Not every routine needs to be handed over to a deputy.
An upcoming job is coordinated concretely with those involved. If the timing is insufficient, agree another appointment instead of creating a blanket permission to access because of the absence. For genuinely urgent events, however, a suitable contact route should be known. This route is to be distinguished from an ordinary tradesperson visit.
Agree help only to a comprehensible extent
If a trusted person is supporting you, discuss individually which task they want to take on and can actually take on. Forwarding messages, tending plants and enabling an agreed visit are different activities. A general request to “keep an eye on everything” leaves too much unresolved for both sides.
Key custody should also be discussed with a clear scope of use. Write down how queries will be clarified and when the temporary arrangements end. If legally effective declarations or orders could become necessary, have the required authority clarified separately and appropriately. The practical contact list is not a separately developed power of attorney form.
Clarify technical specifics on an object basis
For questions about shutdown or later recommissioning of existing systems, contact the specialist responsible for the property. A seemingly simple recommendation from a general travel article cannot know the specific condition of the systems. For that reason this article therefore names neither universal switch positions nor flushing, temperature or inspection intervals.
Record the received object-specific instructions where the authorised supporting person can use them if necessary. Changes to the system should not be mixed in with other tasks on the side. If a question remains open, it will be clarified before any planning that depends on it.
Example: An outstanding repair process is not left to the neighbour
A fictitious tenant travels away for several weeks. A callback has already been announced for a defective roller blind. She discusses with the caretaker whether the matter can wait until her return or whether an appointment during her absence would be sensible and concretely organisable.
The neighbour who tends her plants does not thereby automatically become the contact for repair decisions. If he also wishes to enable a precisely coordinated appointment, that task is discussed separately. On her return the tenant receives a short report on the steps actually undertaken. The example does not clarify a statutory duty to tolerate access nor the necessity of a particular entry.
Consider personal information and return
Share with supporting persons only the information they need for the agreed task. A publicly visible travel itinerary or comprehensive access to private documents is not a necessary organisational starting solution. How the specific information access is arranged legally should be examined separately if required.
On return explicitly end the temporary coordination: return keys, briefly reconcile completed tasks and take over outstanding messages. Check whether promised responses have been received and which ongoing matters you will manage again yourself. Good preparation then has a clear conclusion, instead of continuing unnoticed for months as an undetermined standing order.