Keeping you and your home safe and secure

Catalyst Communities Housing Association

We are always trying to improve the safety and security of our homes and estates. We do this through better design and by installing security features such as entry-phone systems. This leaflet explains how you can help keep your home safe and secure.

Avoiding burglaries

Burglaries cause a lot of distress even if nothing valuable is stolen. Most burglaries aren’t planned.

• Don’t attract thieves by having curtains closed in the daytime, leaving notes for callers, or leaving your key under a mat or on a string inside the letter box.
• Never leave cash or valuables around, especially where they can be seen from outside.
• Lock up properly before you go to bed. Secure the windows, especially those on the ground floor and near drainpipes or flat roofs.
• Before you go out, always secure the windows and lock the doors.
• Before you go on holiday, remember to cancel the newspapers and milk. It’s a good idea to leave your holiday address with a trusted neighbour and to ask them to move your post from where it can be seen.
• When you go out in the evening, close the curtains and leave a light on.
• Always secure any ladders you leave outside your home.

Protecting personal information

Be careful when disposing of paperwork that has personal information on it. This information can be used for identity theft and fraud. It’s a good idea to shred this paperwork.

Avoiding bogus callers

• Keep your doors and windows locked.
• Be cautious when opening the door to strangers and use the safety chain (which we recommend you fit if you don’t have one).
• Always check a person’s identity before allowing them into your home. Our staff carry identity cards, as do workers from the gas and electricity companies.

Using passwords

If you are visually impaired, please call your local office and ask for a password for when member of staff or contractor visits you. When they arrive, they should say the password so you know we have sent them.

Fitting front-door locks

We usually provide a Yale lock for your front door. You are responsible for adding extra security. If you want to add an extra lock, you should use a ’snib’ lock, which is safer in a fire as you can open it from the inside without a key. A lock without a snib is against fire regulations as it can stop you escaping.

If you want to put an extra lock on a door that you share with other tenants, you must get their and our agreement first.

Using door entry-phones

Some of our flats have the extra security of a door entry-phone. If you have one of these in your block:

• only let people into the main entrance door if you are expecting them
• keep the main door closed at all times.

Fitting window locks

You may wish to fit locks to your windows, especially if you live on the ground floor. The crime prevention officer at your local police station can advise you what type of lock to use. If you can’t afford it and there is a security risk, we may be able to help you pay for fitting an extra front-door lock, window locks, spy hole or door chain. Please contact our Customer Services Centre or local office for further information.

Insuring your home contents

We insure the structure of your home, and the fixtures and fittings, but not your personal possessions. We recommend that you insure against fire, theft, and water damage for:

• your possessions
• decorations and repairs for which you are responsible
• third party liability, for example, if your washing machine leaks and damages someone else’s property.

You should have received a leaflet about home contents insurance as part of your sign-up pack. If you didn’t receive this, please contact your local office. If you think you can claim against our insurance, contact our Customer Services Centre or local office. Our leaflet, Claiming Compensation, gives more information.

If you feel you have a claim to make against Catalyst Communities Housing Association’s insurance, you should contact the Customer Services Centre or your local office. Our compensation leaflet gives more information.

For more information on keeping you and your home safe and secure you can download our leaflet below.

 Safety and security (354KB / 16 pages)