I’ve dealt with my first burglary over the last couple of weeks. It happened on the Friday of a bank holiday weekend, I was heading out for the evening with friends when I got the call. The burglars had crow barred their way into a locked window in broad daylight and stolen all they could get their hands on. Of course, it’s the tenants who really suffer as it’s their belongings – and sense of security – that were stolen, I just had to repair the window. Tragically they had only moved into the property a few weeks earlier and not yet arranged contents insurance for all of their belongings. Thankfully I had met them and we’d established a relationship, albeit in early stages.
I visited them the next day with a big bunch of flowers and discussed the situation. I arranged for my regular handyman to secure the window and contacted my buildings insurer. The insurer insisted that their own glazing contractor provided a quote so we arranged this, but nothing could be done until Tuesday and ultimately it was a couple of weeks before the window could be manufactured and fitted.
I decided the best route was to fit an alarm and we also discovered some additional locks that can be put on uPVC windows. I was due to go on holiday for a week so I made the arrangements and left my tenants with contractor details. On bank holiday Monday, they saw another intruder wearing blue latex gloves put his face up to the patio door window. This seriously spooked them and they were understandably very anxious. The alarm was fitted the following Friday and fully programmed within 5 working days of the burglary so I was happy that I had provided a speedy response.
The whole experience raises a number of issues about landlord responsibilities around home security. Replacing the broken window could have been sufficient. I canvassed a number of colleagues about alarms and many were sceptical as they can go wrong and might need constant maintenance. I decided to take a leap of faith and hope the system I have installed will be robust. Certainly the police advise that if a burglar sees an alarm, he tends to go elsewhere. I had no idea uPVC windows were vulnerable to break into, so the additional locks seemed sensible. I was more sceptical about other suggestions like increasing the height of garden fences with trellis and frosting windows so that burglars can’t see in. I’m not keen on putting bars on doors and windows either. Apart from the expense of these measures, I’m of the school of thought that “if they want to get in, they will” and creating a higher fence is unlikely to deter them. On the other hand, there are those who say that an alarm is of limited use because the public ignore them when they go off. There is also the issue of whether to use your insurance policy or not. I think the cost of the window and replacing it was around £500, it will be interesting to see whether my premium increases next year.
Do you think I did enough and quickly enough? For me the biggest challenge was managing the expectation of the tenants who wanted work to be done immediately. They were also taking time off work to make sure the house was always occupied until the alarm was fitted. We all know that the cogs of property maintenance take time, trusted contractors are busy because they are in demand and can’t just drop everything and come to the rescue. It takes a few days for an alarm to be delivered and time for the window to be made. There’s also the issue of being away when something like this happens. Contractors aren’t always the best at communicating with tenants and if I do the liaison they will inevitably treat me the customer with more urgency, especially if we have an ongoing relationship. This incident has underlined the need for me to employ an individual to deal with these matters for me, partly so that I can concentrate on more strategic aspects of the business and occasionally have a break.
I was concerned the tenants, spooked by the man in blue latex gloves, would just never feel safe in the house again and I offered them the opportunity to end their 12 month contract early so they could move. That image has stayed with me and I too feel my property and the well being of my business and valued customers has been violated. When the tenants moved in, they told me they loved the house and now I’m back from holiday and the improvements are just about complete, they seem calmer, I hope they’ll have a long and happy stay.
