Securing an empty property

The short answer

An empty property is a target mainly because it looks empty. Change the locks, fit timer lighting, keep mail cleared and the garden cut, remove valuables from view, and check the property in person on a documented schedule. Most unoccupied insurance policies require several of these, so security and insurance compliance are the same task.

What the work involves

A security walk-round of doors, windows, outbuildings and rear access; lock changes; timer lighting; mail redirection; and an inspection rota with dated photographs.

Rules and responsibilities in Scotland

Boarding up may need care in conservation areas and listed property. Insurance conditions commonly set an inspection interval that has to be evidenced.

What commonly goes wrong

Leaving curtains permanently closed and mail visible through the door, and relying on a neighbour without a written arrangement or record.

What it usually costs

Indicative ranges only, to help you judge a quote. They are not an estimate for your property — only the business doing the work can give you that.

• Timer lighting and a mail redirection are inexpensive relative to the risk they reduce.
• Alarm monitoring or a keyholding service costs more but may reduce the insurance premium.
• Repairing a forced door in a listed building costs considerably more than a modern one.

What to do, in order

1. 1Change or re-pin the locks and record who holds keys.
2. 2Redirect mail and ask a neighbour to clear anything left.
3. 3Fit timer lighting on a variable schedule in at least two rooms.
4. 4Keep the garden and frontage maintained so it looks occupied.
5. 5Inspect on the insurer's schedule and photograph each visit.

Local detail for the Lothians

• Edinburgh tenement flats benefit from the common stair door, but the flat door itself is often original and weak — a modern lock in a sound frame matters.
• Rural West Lothian and East Lothian properties are more exposed to outbuilding and oil tank theft.
• Conservation area rules limit visible security shutters and boarding on street elevations.

When you need a professional

A locksmith working to recognised standards, and a keyholding company where the property will be empty for months.

Common questions

What is the single most effective step?

Making the property look occupied — cleared mail, timer lighting, a maintained garden — because most opportunistic entry follows visible emptiness.

Should an empty property be boarded up?

Only as a last resort. It advertises vacancy, and in conservation areas or listed buildings it may not be permitted on a visible elevation.

Related pages

• Insuring an empty property

  Why standard cover lapses when a property is unoccupied, and what insurers require instead.

• Lock changes and key control

  Who holds keys during a void, and how to hand over cleanly to the next occupier.

• Winterising an empty property

  Heating, draining down and frost protection through a Scottish winter.