Family Travel Preparations for a Secure Home

That last check of the suitcases and the excited chatter about an upcoming family holiday? Those are some of life’s best moments. To truly kick back and enjoy your time off, knowing your home is safe and sound while you’re gone is absolutely key. 

Just a few simple preparations can make all the difference, letting you focus on making memories instead of fretting about what’s happening back at the house.

Pre-Trip Home Security Checklist

Before you lock up and head to the airport, doing a quick security check is a super simple but effective habit. First off, let a trusted neighbour or friend know your travel dates. They can keep an eye on things, grab any mail that might slip through, and be your go-to person if there’s an emergency. If you get regular milk or newspaper deliveries, make sure to pause them. An overflowing postbox or a pile of papers on the doorstep is a pretty clear sign that no one’s home.

A final walk around your property is also a must. Double-check that all windows are securely latched, especially those on the ground floor or any that are easy to reach. Don’t forget those smaller windows in bathrooms or utility rooms! And finally, try to resist the urge to post about your holiday on social media until you’re back. Sharing photos of your departure or poolside snaps in real-time can, unfortunately, tip off people that your home is empty.

Upgrading Locks Before You Go

Your home’s most basic defence? Its locks. If yours are old, worn, or just not up to today’s standards, the time before a big trip is a perfect chance for an upgrade, along with other home repairs to make. Older locks can be pretty vulnerable to common ways of getting in. Modern locks offer way more protection, often boasting anti-snap, anti-drill, and anti-pick technology.

It’s a good idea to look for locks that meet the latest British Standard; these have been put through serious tests against forced entry. If you’re not sure about the quality of your current hardware, chatting with a professional for a high security lock installation can give you a clear picture and a solution. Putting robust locks on all your external doors, including patio and back doors, is one of the most effective security steps you can take.

Making Your Home Look Occupied

An empty house can look like an open invitation, so your goal is to make it seem like someone is still there. One of the easiest ways to do this is with timers. You can grab inexpensive plug-in timers for lamps, radios, and even TVs. Set them to switch on and off at staggered, natural times in the evening to mimic your usual routine. A light coming on in the living room from 7 pm to 10 pm is much more convincing than a single hallway light left on for two weeks straight.

If you have a driveway, ask your neighbour if they’d mind parking their car on it now and then. A car that comes and goes is another strong sign of activity. A summer security checklist often means drawing some curtains but leaving others open to look natural. Curtains closed all day can be just as much of a giveaway as an open view of an empty house at night.

Smart Home Tech for Remote Monitoring

Technology has made it super easy to keep an eye on your home from anywhere in the world. Smart home security devices are now widely available and user-friendly, giving you a direct link to your property right on your smartphone. Video doorbells are a popular starting point; they let you see and chat with anyone who comes to your front door, whether it’s a delivery driver or an unexpected visitor.

You can expand this system with smart indoor and outdoor cameras that send you motion alerts. Some systems even let you set specific activity zones, so you’re only notified about movement in key areas. Beyond cameras, you can install smart sensors that detect a window or door opening, or even environmental changes like a water leak. These systems add an extra layer of awareness and can help you protect your home while on vacation.

With your home properly secured, you can head off on your family adventure feeling totally confident. A little bit of preparation means you can truly switch off and enjoy your well-deserved break.

Why It Matters: The Reality of Holiday Burglaries

It’s easy to think about home security in a vague, precautionary way. The numbers make it more concrete. Police figures in 2025 recorded an average of 895 burglaries per day across the UK, with a total of 327,000 burglaries recorded by the ONS over the year. The summer holiday period is consistently a peak time, with unoccupied properties presenting an obvious opportunity.

The encouraging flipside is that most burglaries are opportunistic rather than planned: security specialists consistently note that homes with visible security measures in place are far less likely to be targeted than those without. A burglar casing a street will move on from properties that present obstacles and go to the path of least resistance. This means that the steps in the original guide, and the additional ones below, are genuinely effective deterrents rather than just peace-of-mind exercises.

Additional Security Steps Worth Taking

• Secure your shed and outbuildings. Security advice from Verisure specifically flags outbuildings as commonly overlooked: a shed containing a ladder, power tools, or a bicycle is both a target in itself and a potential source of equipment that could be used to access the main property. A quality padlock on the shed door and a locked window are the minimum. A ground anchor for a bicycle inside a locked shed adds another layer.
• Be careful about window displays. A static window display with fully open blinds or permanently closed curtains signals to passers-by that no one is in. Homes left in this static state are far more likely to be targeted. The advice to keep some curtains open and others drawn in the original guide is correct: the goal is variety and apparent normality, not a fixed, unchanged view.
• Mow the lawn before you leave. An overgrown garden is one of the more reliable signals of an absent household. It costs nothing and takes half an hour. Police.UK guidance on holiday security specifically lists lawn mowing alongside locking windows as a recommended step.
• Trim front hedges and garden borders before going away. Police advice notes that overgrown hedges at the front of a property give potential burglars cover to work unobserved. Keeping them trimmed removes that concealment and means anyone approaching the front door is visible from the street.
• Notify your local Neighbourhood Watch group. If there’s a Neighbourhood Watch scheme operating in your area, letting them know you’ll be away adds another set of eyes on your property. Security guidance consistently recommends this alongside notifying a trusted neighbour, as it effectively extends your informal network of people who know the street and will notice unusual activity.
• Check your home insurance policy before you travel. Most standard home insurance policies have conditions attached to cover when the property is unoccupied, including requirements around locking all windows and doors, maintaining minimum heating levels in winter, and sometimes restrictions on the length of time the property can be left unoccupied. Checking these conditions before you go, and confirming your policy is valid for the duration of your holiday, means you’re covered if you do need to make a claim.

Home Security Before You Leave: At a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it worth getting a professional home security assessment before a long holiday?

For longer trips or if your property hasn’t had a security review recently, yes. Many locksmiths and security companies offer free or low-cost assessments where they identify vulnerabilities in your locks, doors, windows, and external areas. The police also offer home security advice through local Crime Prevention Officers. The value of a professional assessment is that it identifies things you might not notice as a regular occupant, such as a window lock that’s loose, a back gate that doesn’t close properly, or a lock that looks fine but doesn’t meet current standards. Acting on that advice before a long trip rather than after a break-in is obviously far preferable.

Do alarm systems and visible security cameras actually deter burglars?

Yes, the evidence is clear on this. Security research consistently shows that homes with no security measures in place are far more likely to be targeted than those with even simple, visible deterrents. Alarm boxes on the exterior of a property and visible cameras are among the most effective deterrents because they signal both that a break-in will be detected and that it will be recorded. One important caveat: fake or dummy alarm boxes and cameras are increasingly well-known as such among those who target properties, and are considerably less effective than genuine systems. A genuine alarm with monitoring, or a real camera system with cloud storage, provides both deterrence and actual security.

What should I do if my home is burgled while I’m on holiday?

Contact the police as soon as you’re informed, either by a neighbour or by your monitoring service. Report it to your home insurer promptly, as most policies have conditions around how quickly a claim must be reported. Don’t re-enter the property until the police have attended, as a scene that hasn’t been disturbed is more useful for forensic investigation. Make a list of anything you notice as missing as quickly as possible while your memory is fresh, and photograph any damage before anything is cleaned up or repaired. Keep receipts and documents for anything that’s been taken if you have them; proof of ownership significantly helps the claims process.

How should I handle keys while on holiday?

Never leave a spare key under a doormat, in a plant pot, or in any of the other obvious places that are well-known to burglars. If you need to leave a key for a trusted person to access the property, give it directly to them rather than hiding it on or near the property. Key safes with a combination lock mounted securely to the wall are a better option than a hidden key if you need to leave access for multiple people or tradespeople. Avoid leaving car keys near the front door, as these are increasingly targeted during break-ins: police advice specifically recommends keeping car keys away from obvious locations near entry points.

Does home insurance cover a burglary if I forgot to lock a window?

This depends on your specific policy, and it’s worth understanding the conditions before rather than after an incident. Many home insurance policies contain a condition requiring all windows and doors to be locked when the property is unoccupied. If a claim is made and the insurer determines that a window or door was left unlocked, they may reduce or refuse the claim on the basis that the conditions of cover weren’t met. This is one of the most common reasons home insurance claims are disputed. Reading your policy’s security requirements, and following them before you leave, ensures your cover is valid if you need it. If you’re unsure what your policy requires, a call to your insurer before your holiday takes five minutes and could save significant difficulty later.

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Becky

Meet the award-nominated UK lifestyle blogger behind Spirited Puddle Jumper – a mum of three living in South East London! Becky shares the real ups and downs of family life, parenting tips, and lifestyle inspiration, proving that being a mum doesn’t mean you stop being fun or having other interests! Follow along for honest insights into UK family life and opinions on a whole range of topics, from travel and food, to beauty reviews, home and DIY, business and health and wellness.