Finanze Legacy Insights · England and Wales
The three-month absence test for property investors.
It is easy to ask what would happen to your property portfolio after death. A different question may be more urgent: what happens if you are alive but unable to manage it for three months? Rent, insurance, repairs, borrowing and company obligations do not pause while a family works out who has authority.
This is a practical test, not a prediction about illness. It helps you find the point where a perfectly sound investment business depends too heavily on one person. Try it without looking at your own phone or email: could somebody else keep each part working lawfully and safely?
Week one: who knows what exists?
Write down the properties, how title is held, the ownership vehicle, the outstanding finance and the property manager. Include personally held rentals, joint interests, company-owned buildings and less obvious arrangements such as a joint venture. Where the company owns an asset, the company's authority and accounts are distinct from your personal ones.
Could an authorised person find the signed agreements, insurance policies, tenancy or commercial lease details and lender contacts? A spreadsheet value alone will not tell them when cover expires or whether a contractor can enter a property. Keep an accurate but secure operating index that points to originals and professional contacts. The family handover file guide gives a format for that index.
Month one: what cannot wait?
List time-sensitive payments and decisions. Think about the mortgage, service charges, insurance premiums, repairs, deposits, payroll for any staff, reporting to investors and tax filings. What happens if a tenant reports water damage or the bank asks for a document? A managing agent may handle much of the work, but somebody still needs authority to instruct and fund it.
Stress-test cash flow. Suppose one rent payment is late and a repair arrives at the same time. What accessible reserves exist? Which accounts belong to you personally and which belong to a company? A debit card in somebody else's hands is not a substitute for lawful authority or a suitable company bank mandate.
If you own properties personally, consider whether a registered property and financial affairs lasting power of attorney might allow trusted attorneys to help within its terms. An LPA must be made while you have capacity and registered before use. It can be used with your permission after registration while you retain capacity, subject to its terms. GOV.UK explains how the two types of LPA work. A health and welfare LPA addresses a different set of decisions.
Month two: which permissions would you need?
Property and company documents can prevent a well-meaning person from acting as you expected. An attorney appointed for your personal affairs does not automatically become a director of a company that owns buildings. A spouse is not necessarily an authorised signatory on a company account. Lenders may have their own documentation and consent requirements. Ask the company solicitor, bank and finance advisers to identify gaps while you can still address them.
Make a separate note of personal guarantees, loan covenants and key decision deadlines. Would a refinancing application, sale or renewal stall without your signature? If an SPV has one director, how would another director be appointed and given practical access? The answer depends on the company's articles and arrangements; it should not be guessed from a generic checklist.
If a property is jointly owned, ask what the ownership documents say. Joint tenants and tenants in common have different consequences for passing an interest on death, but a co-owner's ability to sell or manage a property while another lacks capacity also needs attention. HM Land Registry's guide explains the ownership distinction and flags potential Court of Protection issues on a sale.
Month three: where are the people behind the portfolio?
Could your chosen attorney or successor make informed decisions without taking on a full-time job they never agreed to do? Would family members know which professional to call? Could a managing agent continue under their contract? Think about tenants, co-investors, staff and beneficiaries, alongside the value of the assets.
Choose people for judgement and willingness, not simply their closeness to you. Discuss roles now. A partner might be well suited to personal matters while a colleague knows the company. The legal appointment of attorneys and company directors are separate matters; the people can overlap, but their powers must be checked in each role.
This test often reveals that a simple information gap can be fixed quickly, while a legal authority gap requires professional work. Record both. Do not try to solve either by sending sensitive credentials around the family.
What to do with the answers.
Ask who can act, what they need to know and which obligations will arise while you are absent. Update your property register and key contacts. Review any will, LPAs, shareholder or partnership agreement and insurance. Have appropriate advisers check whether the arrangements work together, particularly if you are considering changing ownership or finance.
Give your proposed helpers a chance to test the plan without access to your personal inbox. Could they identify the relevant agent, insurer and lender and explain whom they would ask for authority? If the answer depends on knowing your phone passcode, identify a safer method for the right person to locate essential information. A successful test is one that reveals gaps before they cause a problem.
Write down what you found in two columns: information somebody cannot locate, and decisions somebody cannot legally make. The first may need better record keeping. The second may require an LPA, changes to company governance or advice about how the property is owned. Sorting the problems this way prevents an attractive folder of paperwork from concealing the absence of actual authority.
From our founder / The Finanze Framework™
What you build deserves a longer view.
Alastair Hoyne’s book, The Finanze Framework: Property Strategy & Finance Success, connects the decisions behind acquiring and financing property with the longer-term responsibility of protecting it.
Its final part, Protecting What You Build, invites investors to think beyond the next transaction and consider family, continuity and choice.
35Thinking in GenerationsFamily, continuity and choice
36Estate Planning & ProtectionQuestions to take to the right specialists
The book is educational and does not replace advice tailored to your circumstances. Published by Finanze Strategy Ltd under licence. Editions are scheduled for 30 October 2026; ordering options are shown by the retailer.