Regardless of how many times you have moved home, it could be your first time it could be your tenth time, one thing always stays the same, the roller-coaster of emotions! A lot of excitement and a lot of stress! This is why one very important security measure often gets overlooked, changing your locks! This however is something that should never be overlooked, unless you know every tenant that has ever lived in the property or you’re the first people to have lived in the property you can never be sure of who else may have a copy of the keys and has easy access to your new home.
Home Office Statistics
Home office statistics show that:
The likelihood of you getting burgled within the first twelve months of you living in your new property are almost doubled when compared to the average burglary rate – 4.6% compared to 2.5%
When compared to people that have lived in their property ten years or more you are almost three times as likely to get burgled – 4.6% compared to 1.6%
And households with no home security measures are a shocking ten times more likely to get broken into than those that have taken simple security measures such as upgrading window and door locks – 22.5% compared to 2.5%
Who Has A Key To Your Home?
Annually around 37,500 properties will have new occupants, and amazingly most home buyers are completely unaware that at least one set of keys to their new home will still be in circulation. NOP conducted a survey which revealed that over 58% of British residents hand out spare keys to their home to family or close friends.
Halifax Home Insurance carried out their own survey which revealed that 12 million adults have lost their keys up to six times over a ten-year period as well as address details and ID and still never got their locks changed.
If you lose your keys or move home and don’t change the locks, then you can never be sure that your home is completely secure. Another thing to take into consideration is the fact that home insurance providers require you to change the locks when you move into a new property, so if you do find that you fall victim to a break in and you didn’t have the locks change then your home insurance policy could be void and you will not receive a pay out as the insurers will assume you have not taken the necessary steps to ensure your property is secure enough to prevent a burglary.
By taking the simple measure of changing your locks and upgrading them to more secure locks, not only will you have peace of mind that your property is secure and you know exactly who has a copy of the keys but your insurance provider will also be able to process any future claims you may need to make.
If you have recently moved home or lost your keys and need the locks changing or upgrading, then contact No Shut Sure Lock Bradford today – 07702 752458