{"id":9529,"date":"2026-08-07T11:33:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T08:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/valve.local.navirec.com\/how-to-protect-your-home-from-burglary\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T11:32:53","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T08:32:53","slug":"how-to-protect-your-home-from-burglary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/how-to-protect-your-home-from-burglary\/","title":{"rendered":"How to protect your home from burglary: 12 tips"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group kv-post-summary has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"is-style-eyebrow wp-block-paragraph\">In short<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The simplest way to protect your home from burglary is to make it awkward and risky for a burglar: a locked door and ground-floor windows, a sense that someone is at home, and a neighbour who knows you&#8217;re away. Most of the 12 tips cost nothing. An alarm system (for example the Start package at 385 \u20ac or 17,36 \u20ac\/month) is one of them, not the only answer.<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list is-style-checks\"><li>Lock the door even when you&#8217;re at home or in the garden<\/li><li>Don&#8217;t announce your holiday on social media before you&#8217;re back<\/li><li>An alarm system alerts your phone when nothing else has worked<\/li><\/ul>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2025, Estonia recorded <a href=\"https:\/\/news.err.ee\/1609958510\/estonian-crime-stats-thefts-hit-highest-level-in-a-decade-in-2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">12 563 thefts<\/a>, the highest figure in the last ten years (Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs, crime statistics). The statistics don&#8217;t show how many of them happened in homes, but a burglar always looks for an easy opportunity. Your home doesn&#8217;t have to be a fortress. It&#8217;s enough for it to be more trouble than the house next door. Below are 12 tips, and most of them are free.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How can you protect your home from burglary for free?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Start with habits. They cost nothing, and it&#8217;s exactly the lack of them that makes a home an easy target.<\/p>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Lock the door even when you&#8217;re at home.<\/strong> If you&#8217;re working in the garden, busy in the garage or popped out to the shop for five minutes, an unlocked front door is an easy chance for a burglar. In a block of flats, the same goes for the stairwell door: don&#8217;t let a stranger in just because they buzzed the intercom.<\/li><li><strong>Check the door and the lock.<\/strong> An old lock, a loose door frame or a door with more keys in circulation than you can remember is a weak point. If you&#8217;ve moved into a flat or house that someone lived in before, have the lock cylinder changed. It&#8217;s one of the few tips that costs money, but it lasts for years.<\/li><li><strong>Close ground-floor windows and the balcony door.<\/strong> A window left tilted open in a house or on the ground floor is the easiest way in. In summer, windows are often left open overnight, so air the place through an upstairs window instead. The basement window and the balcony door are the ones people forget most often.<\/li><li><strong>Make it look like someone is at home.<\/strong> Anyone can tell that nobody is home in a dark house where not a single light has been on for a week. A plug with a timer switches a lamp on and off in the evening, and with a smart plug you can switch the lamp on yourself from the app. If you have an alarm system, the smart plug (29 \u20ac or 1,86 \u20ac\/month, up to 16 A) is part of the same system.<\/li><li><strong>Talk to your neighbours.<\/strong> A neighbour who knows you&#8217;re away will notice an unfamiliar car in the yard or someone standing at the door for too long. In a block of flats, a simple agreement not to let strangers into the stairwell helps. Offer something in return: when your neighbour goes on holiday, you keep an eye on their home.<\/li><li><strong>Don&#8217;t announce your holiday on social media.<\/strong> A photo from the airport or the beach tells everyone your home is empty. Share photos only once you&#8217;re back home, and check whether your profile and location tags are public.<\/li><\/ol>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What should you do when you&#8217;re away from home for longer?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The longer a home stands empty, the more it stands out. These three tips help.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"7\" class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Keep the letterbox empty.<\/strong> A full letterbox and leaflets piling up at the door are a clear sign that nobody is home. Ask a neighbour to empty the letterbox or pause your newspaper subscription. Have parcels sent to a parcel locker, not to your door.<\/li><li><strong>Don&#8217;t hide a key near the door.<\/strong> The doormat, the flowerpot and the hook under the eaves are the first places anyone looks. Give a spare key to a neighbour or relative you trust. Don&#8217;t write your address on the key ring.<\/li><li><strong>Keep valuables out of sight.<\/strong> A laptop on the windowsill and car keys on the hallway cabinet can be seen through the window. Keep jewellery and documents you don&#8217;t use every day somewhere locked. Take photos of valuable items and their serial numbers: if something happens, both the police and your insurer will need them.<\/li><\/ol>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How can you make the garden and house less tempting from the outside?<\/h2>\n<ol start=\"10\" class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Tidy the garden and keep bushes low.<\/strong> A tall hedge under a window hides an intruder from the street. A ladder left against the wall and tools in an unlocked shed are ready-made helpers for a burglar. An outdoor light with a motion sensor by the front and back doors gets rid of the dark corner where someone could work undisturbed.<\/li><li><strong>Show that the house is protected.<\/strong> An outdoor siren with a flashing light on the front of the house and an alarm system sticker on the window signal that the house has an alarm. The outdoor siren is 110 dB and costs 70 \u20ac or 3,10 \u20ac\/month. A sticker alone, without a system, may put some people off, but if someone does get in, it does nothing.<\/li><\/ol>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do you need an alarm system to protect your home?<\/h2>\n<ol start=\"12\" class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Get an alarm system when habits aren&#8217;t enough.<\/strong> A lock and a neighbour won&#8217;t send you an alert when the door opens at night. An alarm system sets off a 110 dB siren and sends an alarm to your phone and the phones of all added users. A motion sensor with camera adds a series of photos, even in the dark, so you can see straight away whether it&#8217;s a stranger.<\/li><\/ol>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An alarm system doesn&#8217;t replace a lock or a neighbour. It adds to them: the alert comes straight away. The hub has a battery and a SIM card, so the alarm reaches your phone even during a power or internet cut. In night mode, the doors, windows and outdoor sensors are armed, but you can move freely indoors. If you want someone to always come out when the alarm goes off, choose a security company contract or add a partner patrol to your GSMvalve system. The patrol price depends on the area.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-compare\"><table><thead><tr><th>Package<\/th><th>For<\/th><th>Buy<\/th><th>Rent<\/th><th>Installation<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Start (6 devices)<\/td><td>flat<\/td><td>385 \u20ac<\/td><td>17,36 \u20ac\/month<\/td><td>150 \u20ac<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Plus (11 devices)<\/td><td>house<\/td><td>678 \u20ac<\/td><td>23,56 \u20ac\/month<\/td><td>150 \u20ac<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Premium (18 devices)<\/td><td>large house<\/td><td>835 \u20ac<\/td><td>31 \u20ac\/month<\/td><td>200 \u20ac<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prices include VAT. When you buy, there&#8217;s a monthly fee of 9,18 \u20ac (app, mobile connection and customer support). A technician installs the system in one visit, no cables are run and installation costs the same anywhere in Estonia.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group kv-note has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\"><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Tip.<\/strong> In a house, put your first sensor on the door or window that is least visible from the street. The front door is lit and the neighbours can see it, but the back door and patio door often aren&#8217;t. A large glass patio door is a good spot for a glass break sensor (33 \u20ac), which hears breaking glass from up to 8 m away.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group kv-verdict has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\"><p class=\"is-style-eyebrow wp-block-paragraph\">Summary<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Start with the free things: lock up, close the windows, talk to your neighbour and keep your holiday off social media. These cover most of the risk. An alarm system makes sense if you&#8217;re often away, live in a house or want to know straight away when something happens, not only when you get home. If it matters to you that someone always comes out, look at a security company contract or a solution with a patrol.<\/p><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group kv-faq kv-post-faq has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>How can I protect my home from burglary without an alarm system?<\/summary><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lock the door even when you&#8217;re at home, close ground-floor windows and the balcony door, switch a lamp on in the evening with a timer or a smart plug from the app, ask a neighbour to empty the letterbox and don&#8217;t post about your holiday before you&#8217;re back. Keep valuables where they can&#8217;t be seen through the window and don&#8217;t hide a spare key near the door.<\/p><\/details>\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Does an alarm system sticker help against burglary?<\/summary><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A sticker may put some people off, but it does nothing if someone gets in anyway. A visible outdoor siren with a flashing light (110 dB) together with a real alarm system gives the same warning and also sends an alert to your phone.<\/p><\/details>\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>How much does an alarm system for a flat cost?<\/summary><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The GSMvalve Start package for a flat (hub, keypad, door sensor, motion sensor, smoke detector and indoor siren) costs 385 \u20ac to buy, plus a monthly fee of 9,18 \u20ac, or 17,36 \u20ac\/month to rent. Installation costs 150 \u20ac and prices include VAT.<\/p><\/details>\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>What happens if burglars cut the power or the internet?<\/summary><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The GSMvalve hub has a battery and a SIM card, so the alarm reaches your phone even during a power or internet cut. The sensors run on batteries and talk to the hub by radio.<\/p><\/details>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"kv-post-links wp-block-paragraph\">Read also: <a href=\"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/home-security-on-holiday\/\">home security while you&#8217;re on holiday<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/packages\/\">all packages and prices<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/alarm-system-without-security-company\/\">an alarm system without a security company<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A burglar picks the easier target: an open window, a visible key or a full letterbox. 12 tips that make your home more trouble to break into, and most of them are free.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":9861,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"kv_meta":"How to protect your home from burglary? 12 practical tips, from locks and lighting to neighbours and an alarm system. Most of them cost nothing.","kv_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[353],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-security"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9529"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10539,"href":"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9529\/revisions\/10539"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valve.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}