How to Maintain the Security of Your House During Warm Season

Summer Is Peak Season for Home Burglary

It might seem counterintuitive - sunny days and long evenings feel safe. But summer consistently produces higher burglary rates than winter. More properties are unoccupied during holiday periods, open windows and doors create easy entry points, and social media posts advertising foreign trips act as an inadvertent invitation to opportunistic thieves.

A few sensible measures applied before and during the warm months will keep your home significantly safer.

Why Summer Raises Your Risk

Increased absences: Summer holidays leave properties empty for days or weeks at a time - longer than most burglars need.

Open windows and doors: The desire for ventilation is completely understandable, but an open ground-floor window is one of the most common entry points in summer burglaries.

Social media signals: Photos captioned “Week one of our beach holiday!” shared publicly tell potential burglars precisely where you are and that your home is unoccupied.

Securing Your Doors

Upgrade Your Locks

Before the summer season, check that your exterior door locks meet current standards. A BS 3621-rated mortice deadlock on your main door and an anti-snap Euro cylinder on any uPVC or composite door are the minimum sensible standards. If your locks are more than a decade old, consider a lock change.

Reinforce Vulnerable Points

• Strike plates should be fixed with 75mm screws into the structural timber of the frame, not just the shallow door casing
• Door chains or limiters add useful protection when answering the door to strangers
• Patio and French doors are frequently targeted; ensure they have multi-point locking and consider adding a physical bar or pin lock for additional resistance

Install Door Alarms

Door alarm sensors that trigger when a door is opened are inexpensive and simple to install. They add a noisy deterrent layer on top of physical security.

Securing Your Windows

Never leave ground-floor or easily accessible upper-floor windows wide open when you are not in the immediate vicinity. But securing your windows does not mean sacrificing ventilation:

• Key-operated locks restrict opening angle - fit them to all accessible windows so they can be left slightly open safely
• Sash jammers prevent sash windows from being forced open beyond the limit you set
• Window security film strengthens glass against impact, making breaking in noisier and slower
• Window sensors detect opening or glass breakage and trigger an alarm

Outdoor Security Measures

Security Cameras

Cameras positioned at front and rear door approaches, side gates, and driveway areas provide both deterrence and evidence. Choose models with night vision, motion detection, and cloud storage so that footage cannot be destroyed if equipment is stolen.

Motion-Activated Lighting

Movement-triggered lights startle intruders and eliminate the darkness that conceals approach. Install them around all entry points and any dark pathways or corners around the property.

Garden and Yard

• Keep hedges trimmed to remove concealment
• Lock away ladders, tools, and anything that could aid entry
• Fit a padlock to side gates - an unlocked gate is an open invitation to check what is around the back

Preparing for Extended Absence

Automate Your Home

Smart plugs, timer switches, and smart bulbs can simulate activity - lights and radios cycling on and off at varied times give the impression of occupancy. Some systems can be controlled from your phone so you can vary patterns during your holiday.

Involve Your Neighbours

Ask a trusted neighbour to collect post and parcels, park their car on your driveway occasionally, and report anything that seems out of the ordinary. A house that looks lived-in from the outside is a significantly less attractive target.

Manage Social Media

Post holiday photos after you return, not while you are away. Adjust privacy settings so your posts are not visible to people outside your network. Burglars have increasingly been shown to use social media to identify vacant properties.

Additional Summer Security Tips

• Home security system: A monitored alarm that alerts a response centre (not just a siren that neighbours learn to ignore) provides meaningful protection when you are away
• Secure your garage: Garages are frequent targets and often provide internal access to the main house; ensure the connecting door has a solid lock
• Spare key discipline: Never hide a spare key outside. If trusted neighbours need access, give them a physical spare to keep in their home
• Home inventory: Photograph valuable items and note serial numbers; in the event of a burglary, this information significantly improves the chance of items being recovered and insurance claims being processed quickly

Peace of Mind Before You Travel

Before leaving for an extended period, ask City Locksmith London to carry out a security assessment of your property. We can identify vulnerabilities in your door and window locks, recommend upgrades where needed, and ensure everything is in working order before you go.