Keeping an empty or second home safe while you are away

Key rules

• Keyholder: Name one trusted neighbour or relative with a key, and never hide a spare key outside.
• Police checks: Home checks depend on your town, so ask the Policía Local or town hall before you leave.
• Monitored alarm: The alarm centre must confirm an alarm before the police are told, and the police decide whether to attend.
• Cameras: Film only your own property, and get community approval for any camera on shared areas.

Make the home look lived in

Burglars go for homes that look empty. The signs are shutters closed for days, a full letterbox, no lights and no car outside. Detached houses, villas on urban estates, and ground-floor or top-floor flats with easy access are the usual targets. So are holiday homes on the coast and in rural areas.

Risk peaks in July and August, around Christmas and Easter, and in the off-season months on the coast, when many homes are empty and few neighbours are around. Burglars also check for weak points such as sliding doors, loose windows and poor locks. Fix those before you leave.

Use a neighbour and your community

Choose one trusted neighbour or relative as your keyholder. Give them a key and your contact details. Ask them to:

• collect post and flyers
• open and close shutters from time to time
• switch lights on
• park a car near the home

Never hide a spare key outside. Do not announce the trip on social media. Tell your community administrator or president that the home will be empty.

Give your keyholder the alarm company's details. Agree in advance who calls the police if something looks wrong. The checklist below covers the rest of what to do before you go.

Ask the local police about checks

There is no national scheme. Many local police forces (Policía Local), especially in tourist towns, offer a free "vigilancia de viviendas" service. You give your dates away, address and contact details, and patrols pass by. You usually register at the local police station or with a form on the town hall website. Owners of second homes can usually ask too.

Policía Nacional and Guardia Civil run summer awareness campaigns and give advice. Some rural Guardia Civil posts do informal checks. Ask your Policía Local or town hall whether the service exists where you live and how to register.

Alarms: what happens when one goes off

A monitored alarm sends its signal to an alarm receiving centre. The centre must check that the alarm is real before it calls the police. It may call the home, use video or audio, rely on a second detector, or send a guard. Once the alarm is confirmed, the centre tells the police, and the police decide whether to attend.

So a monitored alarm does not mean the police arrive at once. Alarms that are not confirmed are not normally passed on, apart from limited cases such as panic buttons. Repeated false alarms can lead to fines or to the police no longer being notified for your system. Keep the code, battery and alert contacts up to date. Procedures differ between police forces and regions, including the Catalan and Basque police.

Cameras

A private camera should film only your own property. Do not point it at the street or at neighbours' doors or windows. A camera that only films the inside of your home, for your household, is mostly exempt from the data rules.

Filming shared areas needs a community system approved by the owners' meeting. Installing one needs a three-fifths majority. Put up a visible "zona videovigilada" sign that says who is responsible and where to exercise rights. Recordings are normally deleted within one month, unless they are needed as evidence of a crime. In that case, hand them to the police or court.

Before you leave a home empty: a pre-departure checklist

Before you leave a home empty

• Ask a trusted neighbour to look in regularly, and give them your phone number and a second contact who can act if you cannot be reached.

• Tell your community administrator or president that the home will be empty, and leave a contact number.

• Give a neighbour or friend a spare key, so they can check the home or let in a repair person.

• Stop or redirect your post, or ask someone to empty the letterbox every few days, so it never looks full.

• Set timers on a few lights or radios so the home looks lived in.

• Move jewellery, cash and important papers out of sight, or take them with you or put them in a safe or bank box.

• Close and lock all windows, shutters and balcony doors, and lower blinds to a normal daytime level.

• Switch on your alarm and check that the code, the battery and the contact numbers for alerts are current.

• Turn off the water at the main tap and switch off appliances you do not need.

• Keep your plans off social media until you are back.

What to watch out for

• Your home looks empty: Burglars target homes that look unoccupied: closed shutters for days, overflowing post, no lights and no car. Detached houses, chalets, villas and easy-access flats, and coastal holiday homes, are chosen most often. Risk peaks in July and August, at Christmas and Easter, and in the off-season on the coast. Ask a trusted neighbour to collect post, move the car and open and close shutters from time to time. Use timers for lights and do not announce your trip on social media.

• Weak points and hidden keys: Burglars check sliding doors, unsecured windows and poor locks. A spare key hidden outside is easy to find. Fix weak doors, windows and locks before you leave. Give the spare key to one trusted neighbour or relative instead of hiding it.

• A monitored alarm does not mean the police come at once: The alarm company checks each signal before it calls the police, to avoid false alarms. If it cannot confirm a real alarm, the police are normally not called. Repeated false alarms can bring sanctions or stop police alerts from your system. Give your keyholder the alarm company's details and agree who calls the police if something looks wrong. Keep your contact numbers up to date so the company can reach someone to check.

Frequently asked questions

Does the police check my home while I am away?

Some local police forces do, but there is no single national scheme. Many Policía Local forces in tourist towns offer a free "vigilancia de viviendas" service where you register your dates away, address and contact details, and patrols pass by. Sign up at the local police station or through a form on the town hall website.

When are empty homes most at risk of a break-in?

Empty homes are most at risk in July and August, around Christmas and Easter, and in off-season months on the coast. Detached houses, chalets, urbanización villas and easy-access ground-floor or top-floor flats are the usual targets. Closed shutters for days, overflowing post and no lights show a home is empty.

Does a monitored alarm always bring the police to my home?

No, the alarm company checks the signal first and only calls the police if it looks real. It may phone the home, use video or audio, use a second detector, or send a guard. Repeated false alarms can lead to sanctions or the police stopping alerts from your system.

Can I put a camera at my front door while I am away?

Yes, but it should film only your own property, not the street or your neighbours' doors and windows.