Getting a house in Final Fantasy XIV requires tremendous luck and a great sense of timing, and keeping it will also require effort.
If you don’t use your ward, it’ll end up being demolished and granted to another lucky player, eventually. You’ll also lose some of the gil you invested in it (even though you can retrieve 80 percent of the amount spent), so it’s recommended you go to your plot once in a while to avoid that.
Knowing exactly when your house will be demolished for lack of use is key to avoiding losing it. Fortunately, FFXIV features a demolition timer to check when it’s planned to happen at all times.
It’s worth noting flats don’t have a demolition timer since they’re easier to buy than houses. Players who bought one won’t risk it being given to someone else even if they don’t use the flat for months, or even years.
Demolition timer command in FFXIV
Players have 45 days to enter their houses before the automatic demolition timer begins. To check the timer, press CTRL+U to bring up the timers menu. A Schedule Estate Demolition screen will show if your plot is in danger of being deleted.
Don’t worry, though: you won’t lose your house plot without any warning. Those who haven’t entered their private housing in 45 days will get an email from Square Enix about their plot and will have an additional 15 days to enter it before it’s demolished.
They will receive several emails to make sure they don’t go unnoticed, with an “URGENT” warning included in the title. Players can check the demolition timer at this point, and it will give an accurate timeframe for when the housing plot will be destroyed.
For Free Company houses, any member of the Free Company must enter the house within 45 days. For private housing, the owner must enter the house. Tenants do not count, and the demolition timer will continue to tick down until the owner enters the premises.
Fortunately, house plots cannot be destroyed during maintenance, server outages, or other times when it’s not operational, which means players who will log in at the last moment won’t risk getting it demolished if they can’t connect to the servers before the end of the timer. But they’ll have to do it fast afterward.