It is important to research the surrounding area of the property you are interested in, so you can be sure it is likely to be left unharmed. High crime rates can have a negative impact not only on the safety of your property, but its value too and the appeal to tenants or buyers. It can be extremely difficult to attract tenants to your rental home if it’s in an area notorious for violence and burglaries.
However, even if a house is based in the nicest of areas, the risk still remains. High profile places or extravagant looking buildings can tempt criminals and with a combination of opportunism and the element of surprise – anyone in any home can become the victim of a burglar. Therefore it is important to take certain steps to reduce the likelihood of your property being burgled, regardless of location.
Preventative Measures
As mentioned previously, most burglaries are opportunistic rather than premeditated. So if a property is unoccupied, it would be best practice to regularly visit it at irregular times. That way, your visiting patterns can not be monitored easily.
Steps a landlord can take include installing a visible burglar alarm, putting locks on bedroom doors for student houses and having quality locks on windows and external doors.
Tenants can keep their valuables out of sight, make sure all windows and doors are locked when the house is empty, keep garden sheds or outbuildings locked when not in use, prevent leaving spare keys outside the property and promptly collecting all post and milk deliveries.
Equally as important as the points mentioned above, is the protection of a good insurance policy. In addition to having insurance for your property, landlords should also invest in landlord insurance in case they fall victim to criminal acts by their tenants.
Burglary in the UK
The Home Office put together a table of statistics, looking at different crime rates throughout the country in 2011. Using this information, you can identify the areas more likely to experience burglaries. However this data cannot completely confirm living in a particular area can guarantee your home will not be a target.
Probably the least surprising result is that London has the highest number of residential burglaries, 62,901 to be exact. West Yorkshire, in the Yorkshire and the Humber region, was the second highest with 20,180, followed by Greater Manchester’s 16,887. Wales and the North East region had the lowest levels of burglaries. Gloucestershire experienced the largest percentage increase in burglaries by 28% while Nottinghamshire had the largest percentage fall by 38%.
Despite these concerning statistics there is no need to live in fear. Taking the appropriate preventative measures mentioned here as well as those given by the police, can help minimise the risks. If any crime involving your property occurs you should report it to the police immediately – as with any other crime.
Now in the words of Crimewatch UK – “Don’t have nightmares, do sleep well.”