Protecting your home: doors, locks, window bars (rejas) and alarms

Terms used

• Rejas — Rejas are metal bars fixed over or inside windows to stop people getting in.
• Puerta acorazada — A puerta acorazada is a fully armoured door with a steel-plate structure, multipoint bolts and a reinforced frame.
• Puerta blindada — A puerta blindada is a cheaper security door, usually wood with a steel sheet inside.
• Persianas — Persianas are roller shutters that cover a window from outside.

Key rules

• Monitored alarm: A monitored alarm connected to an alarm receiving centre must be installed by an authorised security company, and you cannot connect a DIY system yourself.
• Alarm not required: A private home has no legal duty to have an alarm.
• Rented home: Tenants need the landlord's consent to change the door or add bars.
• Community building: Bars or changes to the facade usually need the owners' approval.
• Bedroom bars: Bars on bedroom windows should open or release, so you can escape in a fire.

Spend on four things

Put your money into the door, the cylinder, the windows and, if you want one, an authorised alarm. Cameras, fake alarm boxes and stickers do little by comparison. Use the room-by-room checklist below to see where your home stands.

The front door comes first

The front door is the usual way in. Burglars lever it, kick it, drill the lock, snap the cylinder, or slip the latch with a card on a door that is not armoured. Flats on upper floors are mostly hit through the door.

You have three levels to choose from:

• Add-ons: an anti-lever plate (anti-palanca) or hinge bolts, a cylinder cover (escudo protector) and a reinforced strike plate. Expect roughly 150 to 500 euros.
• Puerta blindada: a wooden door with a steel sheet. It is a decent upgrade, at roughly 700 to 1,500 euros installed.
• Puerta acorazada: a steel-plate door with bolts into the frame at several points and a reinforced frame. It is the most effective, at roughly 1,500 to 4,000 euros or more installed. Look for a certified door in class RC2 to RC3, which is suitable for homes.

Prices vary by brand and region, so get several quotes. A certified door is only as strong as its frame and wall fixing, so have a professional fit it.

If you rent, you need the landlord's consent for a new door. In a community building, a change to the outside look of the door may also need the community's consent.

Fit a proper cylinder

An ordinary cheap cylinder can be bumped, drilled, picked or snapped. A good one resists all four, but only if it is certified and fitted correctly.

• Look for the EN 1303 marking, with top grades for key security and attack resistance. DIN 18252 is also accepted. Check the grades on the box or datasheet.
• Check it is anti-bumping, anti-drill, anti-pick and anti-snap.
• It should not stick out beyond the door plate, and a security escutcheon should cover it.
• Choose a patent-protected key, so nobody can copy it without permission.
• Size it to your door thickness.

A good cylinder costs roughly 40 to 150 euros plus fitting. It is the best value upgrade, and it is often the first thing worth doing in a rental.

Windows, balconies and rejas

Windows and balcony or terrace doors come next. Ground floors, first floors reachable from terraces or roofs, and houses with patio doors are the most exposed. In houses and ground-floor homes, windows and sliding doors are hit more than the front door.

Rejas are metal bars. Fixed steel bars are very effective, but they can block your escape in a fire. Bedrooms should have bars with a release mechanism or bars that open. Fire and building rules limit escape routes.

Persianas (roller shutters) slow a burglar down. Ordinary ones can be lifted from outside, so choose security slats or an anti-lift lock.

Before you fit bars or shutters:

• Owners in a community building: changes to the facade or shared elements need the owners' approval, usually a vote. Ask your administrator first.
• Style rules: many town halls and community statutes regulate colour and style. Historic or protected zones can need municipal permission.
• Tenants: you need the landlord's consent to alter the property.

Alarms

No law requires a private home to have an alarm. The choice between none, self-installed and monitored is in the decision below.

If you want a monitored alarm connected to an alarm receiving centre, an authorised security company must install it, and you cannot connect a DIY system yourself. The company should have qualified technicians and give you an installation certificate. Check that it is on the Interior Ministry's register of authorised security companies before you sign.

Do it in this order

1. Run through the checklist below.
2. Replace the cylinder and add a cover plate.
3. Reinforce the door, or replace it if you own the home.
4. Protect the windows that are easiest to reach.
5. Decide on an alarm last.

Do you need a monitored alarm, and which type?

Should you have no alarm, a self-installed alarm or a monitored alarm?

• No alarm: Your doors, locks and bars are solid and you want to avoid monthly fees.

• Self-installed alarm: You want low cost and no contract. It sends alerts to your own phone, but it does not call the police: you must call 112 or the police yourself. Keep siren length within your town's noise rules, never test at night, and point cameras only at your own property. Tenants need the landlord's consent for fixings.

• Monitored alarm: You want someone watching while you are away. A monitoring centre checks the signal first, for example by phone call or video, then tells the police if it is real. Installation costs from free to around 200 to 400 euros and monthly fees run from about 30 to 60 euros. Contracts often last 12 to 36 months with a penalty for leaving early, so read the minimum term, penalty and equipment ownership first.

Choose a monitored alarm only if you accept the contract term. Check the company is authorised, and remember the 14-day withdrawal right if you sign away from the company's premises.

A room-by-room home security check

Room-by-room security check

• Check the front door: look for a solid door, a reinforced frame and a lock that has more than one bolt point.

• Test the lock cylinder and look for signs of wear or damage; replace it if it is old or loose.

• Check every ground-floor and easily reached window: confirm the catches close firmly and add bars (rejas) or locks where a person could climb in.

• Check the balcony and terrace door: close it fully every time and look for ledges, pipes or neighbouring roofs that make it easy to climb up.

• Check the lights at entrances, patios and stairs, and fix dark spots with bulbs or motion-sensor lights.

• Count every key copy, collect spares from past tenants or workers, and change the lock if you cannot account for them.

• Never hide a spare key outside, and leave one with a trusted person instead.

• Before you go away, lock all windows and doors, and ask a neighbour to collect your post.

Frequently asked questions

Which part of my home do burglars attack first?

Burglars most often attack the front door, usually by levering, kicking, drilling or snapping the cylinder. In upper-floor flats the door is the main target.

How much does a stronger front door cost?

Add-ons such as an anti-lever plate, hinge bolts or a cylinder cover cost roughly 150 to 500 euros. A puerta blindada (a wooden door with a steel sheet) costs roughly 700 to 1,500 euros installed. A certified puerta acorazada (a full steel door with bolts into the frame) costs roughly 1,500 to 4,000 euros or more. Have it fitted professionally, because the door is only as strong as its frame.

Which lock cylinder rating should I look for?

Look for a cylinder certified to EN 1303 with the top grades, 5 or 6, for key security and attack resistance. It should be anti-bumping, anti-drill, anti-pick and anti-snap, and sit flush with the door plate under a security cover.

Can I put rejas on my windows if I rent or live in a community building?

Tenants need the landlord's consent, and owners in a community building usually need a vote of the owners if the bars change the facade. Some town halls and protected zones also set rules on style or colour. For bedrooms, choose bars that open from inside so you can escape in a fire.