With Christmas fast approaching and the festive holidays in full swing, thousands of students will be leaving their digs to head back home and spend time with family and friends. However, with thousands of student properties left empty over the festive period, Christmas tends to be busy for opportunistic burglars.
Founder of Accommodation for Students, Simon Thompson, shares his expert insight on steps that students can take to keep their properties safe and secure over the Christmas holiday season.
Lock up
This may seem like the obvious first step when it comes to keeping your property safe and secure, but it’s amazing how many people forget. Between the rush of getting ready to go home for Christmas, shopping, and looming deadlines, it can be easy to miss. If you are the last of your housemates to leave your student property for Christmas, check that all windows and doors are locked up and secure.
This includes not leaving any bedroom windows open – opportunistic thieves will not be deterred from having to climb to gain access. If your housemates are leaving at a later date, it’s always worth giving them a friendly reminder before they leave.
Set your burglar alarm
If your student property includes a security alarm system, give yourself a reminder to set it before you leave. This added security should help to deter any burglars from targeting the empty property or will alert your neighbours if someone broke in.
Speak to your neighbours
If your property is going to be empty over the Christmas period, it is always worth speaking to your neighbours. If they are planning on remaining in their property over Christmas, you can ask them to keep an eye out while you and your housemates are away.
Give them your contact details, or pass on the information of your landlord, so that they can get in contact if they see anything suspicious while the property is empty. Remember to always ask for your landlord’s permission before giving out their contact details.
Don’t advertise that your property is empty
As you and your housemates head home for the holidays, it can be tempting to post about it on social media. One last group photo for Instagram outside of your student house may seem like a nice, sentimental idea, but it may pose a security risk.
You never know who is looking at your social media and if a property or house number is easily identifiable, this signals to opportunistic thieves that the property is empty and can make it a prime target.
Hide your valuables
If you are leaving any valuables or expensive items in your student house over the Christmas holidays, ensure you keep them hidden and out of view. Don’t leave any items or your Christmas shopping out in plain sight through the room window, as this could be enticing the burglars. It is best to bring your smaller, more expensive items back to your family home over Christmas so that you know they are safe and secure, rather than leaving them in an empty property.
Unplug any electrical items
Before you leave your student house for Christmas, do a sweep of the entire property to check that all electrical items are switched off. It’s important to check that they are not left on standby and that they are unplugged at the mains. Not only does this help to minimise the risk of electrical fires starting in the property while it’s empty, but it will also save you money on your energy bill.
Turn the water off
As your student house will likely be empty for several weeks during the coldest time of the year, you should consider turning off the water in the property. During freezing temperatures, water pipes can burst and cause leaks. This could cause significant damage while the property is empty and the leak will be left undiscovered for several weeks.
Turning the water off while you and your housemates are away can prevent this and can be done using a stop tap. Check with your landlord or letting agent to find out where in the property this is located.
Check your upcoming deliveries
Check that you don’t have any deliveries coming while you’re going to be away from your student house. Be mindful of the delivery time scales on any last-minute Christmas shopping, as they may arrive after you have gone home for Christmas.
If they are left in an unsecured location, such as a front step or in a blue bin, for example, they could potentially be stolen by any opportunistic thieves in the area.
Get picked up from down the street
If you are getting picked up with a suitcase, either by family or by a taxi, try to avoid getting collected directly outside of the property. Lugging a large suitcase down the street may seem like an extra faff, but you never know who may be watching the property.
Burglars will often scout student areas in search of properties that appear empty. Someone leaving a property with a large suitcase around this time of year is a key indicator that the occupants are leaving, and the household will be empty during the Christmas period.
Avoid hiding spare keys outside of the property
Hiding spare keys in places outside of a property poses a security risk all year round. However, it is an even greater risk when your home is empty. This gives thieves easy access to your household and is something you should avoid doing, especially when you go home for the Christmas holidays.
Consider contents insurance
For extra security, you may wish to consider taking out contents insurance. Many insurance providers can arrange specialist students’ contents insurance policies, to insure your expensive items such as gadgets, laptops, and musical instruments are protected. The cost of the policy will depend on various factors, such as the location of the property, local crime rates and the value of said items.
