Moving house means packing up your life and telling every service provider your new address, so security is rarely top of the list. It should be: the last thing you need in your first few days is a burglary.
You may be new to the area, with no neighbours to keep an eye out, and you won’t yet have had time to fit proper security. Here is our guide to keeping your family and belongings safe from day one.
Before the move
Ideally, between packing boxes, visit your new home and carry out a quick security survey. Check how secure the front and back doors are, along with the windows, gates and any sheds. You may decide to upgrade some of them.
Note whether the property has an intruder alarm and how effective it is. If it doesn’t, plan ahead and book an installation for moving day, or as soon after as possible.
On moving day
Moving day is stressful, but stay alert. Move boxes and furniture straight from the van into the house, and don’t leave items in the garden or on the drive. If you can, ask a trusted helper to stay with the van.
Try not to advertise that you’ve just moved in. Empty boxes left outside are an invitation to burglars, so break them down and store or recycle them quickly. If you need a skip, have it removed as soon as possible.
New-home security checklist
- Change the locks, as you can’t know who holds a spare key
- Change the PIN on any inherited alarm
- Fit curtains or blinds as soon as you can
- Meet your neighbours and swap contact details
Settling in
Many people change the locks on a new property, because you never know who has a copy of the key or how careful the previous owners were. If you’ve inherited an alarm, change the PIN code for the same reason. Make the house look occupied as quickly as you can, starting with curtains or blinds.
Get the right system fitted
Inherited alarms are often old, badly placed or unmonitored. If you’d like a professional intruder alarm system in your new home, get in touch and our security experts will talk you through the options.
