Safety and security are often overlooked when moving home. You already have a long list of tasks and taking the steps that will keep your home and belongings protected is often forgotten. We look at some of the actions you can take to keep everything as safe as possible.
1. Check your new home has smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms
One of the most important jobs is making sure that you have smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and that they are fully functioning. You should test them and put in new batteries. If you have any doubts about whether the alarms are working, you should replace them. Both types of alarms can be life savers.
2. Secure doors and windows
Doors should be robust, including rear entrances and French doors. Burglars can sometimes just lift a flimsy sliding door off of its base to enter a property. Similarly, you should check that the windows are secure and that the downstairs windows have functioning locks.
You can change the locks on the front and back doors to be extra secure. There is always a risk that extra sets of keys exist that you don’t know about.
3. Think about installing an alarm
If there is no alarm at your new home, you may want to instal one. This can be a strong deterrent to burglars. Make sure you are in the habit of setting it when you leave. Failing to do so could have implications for your insurance coverage if you were to be burgled while your alarm was switched off.
If you move into a house with an alarm already installed, make sure it is working properly and change the codes straightaway.
4. Install security lights
Security lights are another deterrent to burglars. While you don’t necessarily want the expense of having a light on all the time, you can set your lights to come on when someone passes by the sensors.
You can also have internal lighting set to come on and go off at irregular intervals when you are away, to make it seem as though someone is at home.
5. Instal a safe if you have a lot of small, valuable items
If you have jewellery or other expensive items, a safe securely fixed in your home, preferably out of sight in a cupboard, is a good investment. You should keep anything you do not use regularly in there and try to be in the habit of hiding other items of value when you leave. This includes car keys, which burglars often look for if there is a car in the driveway.
6. When it is coming up to your moving day, don’t post it on social media
In the chaotic days of moving, don’t give burglars the opportunity to strike before you have had the chance to hone your security systems. Tell friends and family that you are moving privately if you have to.
7. Keep valuables out of sight when on moving day
If you can, put valuable items in an unmarked box in your car and keep an eye on them. Another alternative is taking them to a friend or family member for safekeeping before moving day arrives.
If you do need to put things in boxes in the removal van, just label them with the room that you would like them in rather than specifying ‘computer equipment’ or ‘laptops’, which could prove tempting to an opportune thief.
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If you would like to speak to one of our expert property lawyers, ring us on 0333 3055 189 or email us at info@lpropertylawyers.co.uk
