Going on Holiday? Your Home Security Checklist Before You Leave

An unoccupied home for a week or two is a more attractive target than one where people are coming and going regularly. Most burglars are opportunistic — they look for signals that a property is empty and unmonitored before deciding whether to act. Working through a simple checklist before you leave significantly reduces those signals and makes your home a much less appealing prospect.

Locks and Physical Security

• Lock every external door and test it. This sounds obvious but it's surprisingly easy to rush out on the morning of a holiday without fully checking every door. Front door, back door, side door, connecting garage door — all of them, all tested
• Lock all accessible windows. Ground floor windows and any upper windows reachable from a flat roof, extension, or drainpipe should all be locked. If any windows are in poor condition or have locks that don't work properly, get them fixed before you go rather than leaving a known weakness unattended
• Secure the garage. If you have a garage, make sure it's properly locked — including any side door and the connecting door to the house if there is one. A garage with a poor lock and a connecting door to the house is a significant vulnerability
• Lock garden gates. If your garden gates have padlocks or key locks, use them. An unlocked rear gate gives easy, private access to the back of the property
• Check outbuildings. Sheds, summerhouses, and outbuildings containing valuable items should be properly secured. Bikes, power tools, and garden equipment left in an unlocked shed are easy pickings

Making the Property Look Occupied

• Use timer switches on lamps. At least one lamp in a main living area on a randomised timer creates a much more convincing impression of occupancy than a house that's dark every evening at the same time. Randomised timers are available cheaply and are more convincing than fixed on/off schedules
• Arrange for post and parcels to be collected. A full letterbox or a pile of parcels on the doorstep is an obvious signal that nobody is home. Ask a trusted neighbour to clear your letterbox, or use Royal Mail's Keepsafe service to hold mail at the sorting office
• Ask a neighbour to put your bins out and bring them back. Bins left out for days after collection day is a common signal of an empty property
• Don't leave a note on the door. It seems obvious, but leaving a note for a delivery driver saying you're away until a certain date is advertising your absence to anyone who walks past

Before You Announce It Online

Don't post on social media that you're going away, or share photos that make it obvious you're not at home, until you're back. The audience for a social media post is rarely as limited as people assume, and it only takes one person in the wrong network to pass the information on. Post the holiday photos when you're safely home.

Neighbours and Trusted Contacts

• Tell a trusted neighbour you're away and ask them to keep an eye out for anything unusual. Give them a contact number where you can be reached
• Ask them to vary the appearance of the property if possible — move a car if you have a driveway, occasionally draw or open curtains, anything that suggests the house isn't sitting empty
• Make sure someone has a spare key who can access the property in an emergency

Before You Set Off

If Something Goes Wrong While You're Away

Make sure whoever is looking after your property has the number of a trusted local locksmith. If a lock fails or the property needs to be accessed urgently, they need to be able to get someone out quickly without having to search for a reliable number under pressure. AMP Lock covers Stourbridge and the surrounding area 24 hours — our number is 07961 169 681.

When You Get Back — One Thing Worth Doing

If you've had any tradespeople, a house-sitter, or anyone else with key access to the property while you were away, it's worth considering a cylinder change on your return — particularly if access was given to someone you don't know well. A new cylinder takes less than an hour and gives you complete confidence that only the people you intend to have access do.