Home Security Check Sheet

Who this is for

A walk round the house with a pen. Six short lists cover the doors, the windows, the outside lighting, the alarms, the garden and outbuildings and what to do before going away, each with a notes line for the fault found or the job to be done.

Householders doing a once-a-season check, people about to leave a house empty, landlords between tenancies, and anyone who has just moved in and does not yet know what locks what.

What this helps you track

• Which doors and windows actually lock, and which only look as if they do
• Lights and alarms that have quietly stopped working
• The shed, gate and side passage that get forgotten in a check of the house
• A dated record of the check, useful after a break-in or an insurance question

How to use it

1. Write the property and the date at the top and start at the front door.
2. Work through each list in turn, ticking what is right and writing what is wrong on the notes line.
3. Do the outside lists in daylight and the lighting list after dark.
4. Use the going-away list only when you are leaving the house empty; ignore it otherwise.
5. Turn the notes into a job list — a lock to fix, a bulb to replace — and date the sheet when it is done.
6. Keep the completed sheet; the browser version saves it in your own browser.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Does this tell me what security I should have?

No. It checks what you have works and is used. What is enough depends on the house, the area and your insurer, and some insurers set their own conditions — check your policy rather than this sheet.

How often should I do the check?

That is up to you. Many people do it when the clocks change and before any trip away; a landlord might do it at each change of tenant. The sheet has a date line so you can see when it was last done.

Why is there a section for when I am away?

An empty house has different risks: post piling up, timers, keys, who knows you are gone. The list keeps those separate from the checks you would do any day.

Can I leave out sections that do not apply?

Yes. A flat has no garden and a bungalow has no upstairs windows. Cross the list through on paper, or delete the items in the browser version.