Author: homesecurityinnovations.com

Security and escape pull in opposite directions

A window that is hard to open from outside is also, in principle, harder to open from inside in an emergency. Fitting window locks is a standard security step, but a window can be the second way out of a home when the stairs are blocked by fire. This article summarises Approved Document B, volume 1 (dwellings), as published on GOV.UK in the edition that incorporates the 2020, 2022, 2025 and 2026 amendments and the forthcoming 2029 changes, together with London Fire Brigade advice on bedtime checks. The GOV.UK page for the document says it applies to England and was last updated on 16 September 2026. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own building regulations, which are outside this article.

What kind of document this is

Approved Document B is statutory guidance to the Building Regulations 2010 on fire safety. It explains that the Building Regulations apply to building work as defined in regulation 3, and that those responsible for the work, including the building owner, may face prosecution in the magistrates’ court if the regulations are contravened. The guidance is written for building work, so it sets out what escape provisions are expected when a dwelling is built or altered.

When an escape window is needed

For the ground storey, the document says that all habitable rooms except kitchens should have either an opening directly onto a hall leading to a final exit, or an emergency escape window or door. For upper storeys that are a maximum of 4.5 metres above ground level and are served by one stair, all habitable rooms except kitchens should have either an emergency escape window or external door, or direct access to a protected stairway. Taller dwellinghouses have further provisions, including alternative escape routes or sprinklers.

The size and height rules

Paragraph 2.10 sets out the criteria for a window used for emergency escape. The window should have an unobstructed openable area of at least 0.33 square metres, with a minimum height of 450 millimetres and a minimum width of 450 millimetres, and the route through the window may be at an angle instead of straight through. The bottom of the openable area should be a maximum of 1,100 millimetres above the floor. People escaping should also be able to reach a place free from danger from fire, and the document says that courtyards or inaccessible back gardens should comply with its Diagram 2.5. The same paragraph says windows should be capable of remaining open without being held.

What the document says about locks

On locks, paragraph 2.10 states that locks, with or without removable keys, and opening stays with child-resistant release catches may be fitted to escape windows. The guidance therefore does not prohibit key-operated window locks on escape windows. It sets out the other criteria, such as the openable area and the requirement that the window can stay open, that the window must still meet. It does not say how a particular lock should be specified, so a homeowner or installer choosing a lock for a bedroom window should confirm with the building control body, or the manufacturer’s documentation, that the fitted product suits an escape window.

Why keys matter

A lock that needs a key only helps an escape if the key can be found quickly. London Fire Brigade’s bedtime checklist tells households to keep door and window keys where everyone they live with can find them, and to keep escape routes clear of anything that may slow an escape. That advice suits a household with young children, older relatives or visitors who may not know where a key is kept, and it should be settled before a fire, not during one.

• Agree one known place for keys, near the window or in a fixed spot in each bedroom.
• Make sure every occupant, including guests, is shown how the window and its lock operate.
• Check that the window can be opened wide enough to meet the size figures above once the lock is released.
• Avoid fixing grilles, bars or other fittings that reduce the unobstructed openable area of a window that is a room’s escape route.

Where these questions overlap with other guides

For new homes, the security requirements of Building Regulations Approved Document Q are covered in Approved Document Q: What Building Regulations Actually Require for New-Build Home Security in England. Fittings such as grilles and shutters are treated in Security Glazing, Window Film, Grilles and Shutters, and the overlap between security and fire safety in shared houses is set out in HMO Licensing and Fire Door Rules: Where Security and Fire Safety Overlap.

The bottom line

Approved Document B for England does not treat security and escape as mutually exclusive: it states that locks, with or without removable keys, may be fitted to escape windows, provided the window still has the required openable area, a bottom edge of the openable area no more than 1,100 millimetres above the floor and the ability to stay open unaided. What makes a locked window safe is the practice around it: keys that everyone in the household can find, occupants who know how to open the window and no permanent obstruction across an escape route. Anyone altering windows in England should check the building control position before work starts.

Sources

• GOV.UK, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, “Fire safety: Approved Document B”
• Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, “Approved Document B (fire safety) volume 1: Dwellings, 2019 edition incorporating 2020, 2022, 2025 and 2026 amendments collated with 2029 amendments” (PDF)
• London Fire Brigade, “Bedtime checks”

Scotland uses different words

Readers used to the term burglary will not find it in Scottish crime statistics. Scots law and Scottish police recording use housebreaking and related terms, and the difference affects how figures should be read. This article summarises two Scottish Government publications: the Scottish Crime Recording Standard rules for crimes of dishonesty (the 2023 to 2024 edition), which police use to decide how a crime is recorded, and the bulletin Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2025-26, which is labelled as Accredited Official Statistics. The definitions below are recording rules that describe the law for counting purposes, not the text of a statute. The article covers Scotland only. For England and Wales, see What Legally Counts as Burglary? The Theft Act 1968 Definition, Dwellings and Sentencing in England and Wales.

What housebreaking means in the recording standard

The standard says housebreaking is not a substantive crime on its own: there must also be a felonious intent, and it is associated only with theft, either as an aggravation of it or as the intent behind it. It explains that a “house” is not limited to a dwelling house. The term covers any other roofed building, finished or unfinished, and any part of a building used as a separate dwelling, that is secured against intrusion by unauthorised persons.

The standard adds that what must be overcome is the strength or security of the building, and that actual damage is not essential. The security is overcome whenever entry is made by what is not the usual or intended way in. For theft by housebreaking, the standard says it is not essential that the thief entered the building: the crime is complete if, for example, an article is drawn out with an implement.

Dwelling, non-dwelling and other

The standard applies one of three modifiers to housebreaking. A dwelling includes a house used or fit for residential purposes, an unfinished or renovated house that is roofed, has windows and doors fitted and can be secured, and a domestic garage that is an integral part of the house because a connecting door links the two. A non-dwelling covers roofed buildings used for domestic purposes other than dwellings, including domestic garages that are not integral, garden huts, garden sheds, allotment huts and outhouses. The remaining category is other, which covers roofed buildings not used for residential or domestic purposes, such as commercial premises.

The standard states that a compound, yard or field secured by a fence and a locked gate is not treated as a lockfast place for recording purposes. It also says that damage which may indicate an intent to break in is to be considered an attempted housebreaking with intent to steal unless the damage is more likely to be vandalism. Theft by opening lockfast places is a related but separate category, and where both occur in one incident the standard says only the most serious crime type is recorded.

What the 2025-26 figures report

The bulletin says the police recorded 315,357 crimes in Scotland in 2025-26, an increase of 5% on 2024-25, and that crimes of dishonesty rose 6% to 118,040. Within that group, the bulletin reports that recorded housebreaking fell 6%, from 7,381 to 6,968 crimes. Over the ten years from 2016-17 to 2025-26 it fell 57%, from 16,299 to 6,968. The bulletin adds that housebreaking has been in long-term decline since a peak of 116,130 recorded crimes in 1991 and is at its lowest level since 1971.

Theft by opening lockfast places fell 15% in the latest year, from 1,431 to 1,215 crimes, and 37% over ten years, from 1,940. The pattern is a broad fall in property-entry crime even while the bulletin reports overall recorded crime at its highest since 2014-15.

How to read the numbers

• Recorded crime is not all crime. The bulletin states that not all crimes are reported to or recorded by the police, so the statistics measure the volume of criminal activity the police face, not every incident.
• The count is offence-based. The bulletin explains that a house broken into and vandalised is recorded as housebreaking, which includes the vandalism, and that one incident can produce more than one recorded crime.
• Premises differ. Because the recording standard splits housebreaking into dwelling, non-dwelling and other premises, a single national housebreaking total does not by itself say how many family homes were entered.
• Cross-border comparison is loose. The categories and counting rules here are Scottish. Comparing the raw totals with figures for England and Wales, which are compiled under a different legal framework, needs care; the England and Wales position is discussed in How Many Homes Are Burgled? Reading the ONS Burglary Figures for England and Wales.

What this means for householders

The recording standard shows that outbuildings matter. A garden shed or non-integral garage counts as a non-dwelling for recording, so a break-in there is still housebreaking in Scottish statistics. Layered protection of outbuildings is covered in Shed, Garage and Garden Security: A Complete Practical Guide.

The bottom line

In Scotland the relevant term is housebreaking, defined in police recording rules as overcoming the security of a roofed building with intent to steal, and recorded as dwelling, non-dwelling or other. The Scottish Government’s 2025-26 bulletin reports 6,968 recorded housebreakings, down 6% on the year and 57% on ten years earlier, and the lowest level since 1971. Those figures describe crimes recorded by the police, not every incident, and they should not be set directly against burglary figures from other parts of the United Kingdom.

Sources

• Scottish Government, “Group 3 – Crimes of Dishonesty” (Scottish Crime Recording Standard: crime recording and counting rules 2023 to 2024)
• Scottish Government, “Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2025-26”
• Scottish Government, “Crimes of Dishonesty” (Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2025-26)
• Scottish Government, “Data and methodology” (Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2025-26)

Two regimes, one front wall

A burglar alarm bell box or a camera on the front elevation is usually a minor job. On a listed building, or in a conservation area, it can raise a question that most homeowners never meet: is consent needed? This article summarises the Planning Portal pages on home security alarms and CCTV, the Planning Portal page on conservation areas, the GOV.UK planning practice guidance on the historic environment (paragraphs revised 23 July 2019) and sections 7 and 9 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as published on legislation.gov.uk. The Planning Portal states that its guidance relates to the planning regime for England and that policy in Wales may differ. The 1990 Act sections are marked as applying to England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate systems that are outside this article.

Alarms: not normally a planning matter

The Planning Portal says that planning permission is not normally required to install a security alarm, but that anyone living in a listed building or conservation area should check with the local planning authority. It adds that an alarm system involving electrical work must comply with the relevant standards in the Approved Documents, and points to Approved Document P on electrical safety.

CCTV: conditions attached to the general rule

For CCTV, the Planning Portal again says planning permission is not normally required, with the same caution for listed buildings and conservation areas. It lists conditions: up to 16 cameras on buildings, with no more than four on a single wall; a maximum camera size of 0.75 by 0.25 by 0.25 metres; no placement less than 2.5 metres above ground level or within 10 metres of another camera; and no protrusion of more than one metre or position within one metre of another wall. Building regulations do not generally apply to CCTV, according to the same page, but a new electrical circuit is notifiable work that should be completed by a competent person or checked by a building control body.

These figures come from the Planning Portal’s introductory guide, which describes itself as not a definitive source of legal information. Camera placement and privacy are separate questions, dealt with in Home CCTV and Data Protection: What the ICO Actually Requires From Camera Owners.

Listed buildings: listed building consent is separate

The GOV.UK planning practice guidance says that listed building consent and planning permission are separate regimes, and that some works need both, one or neither. Consent is required for any works to demolish part of a listed building, or to alter or extend it in a way that affects its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest, whether or not planning permission is also needed. For all grades, unless the list entry says otherwise, the listing covers the entire building, inside and outside, and may cover objects fixed to it and curtilage buildings or structures. There is no fee for a listed building consent application.

Section 7 of the 1990 Act states the restriction in statutory terms: no one may carry out works of demolition, alteration or extension that would affect the character of a listed building unless the works are authorised. Whether a particular alarm box, camera bracket, cable run or drilled fixing affects character is a judgement for the local planning authority, which is why the Planning Portal advises checking before starting.

The offence and its limited defence

Section 9 makes it an offence to contravene section 7, and the GOV.UK guidance confirms that carrying out affecting works without consent is a criminal offence. The section provides a defence where works were urgently necessary for safety, health or the preservation of the building, where repair or temporary support was not practicable, where the works were limited to the minimum immediately necessary, and where written notice justifying them was given to the local planning authority as soon as reasonably practicable. The listed penalties are up to six months’ imprisonment or a fine on summary conviction, or up to two years’ imprisonment or a fine on conviction on indictment. The defence is framed around urgent safety and preservation.

Conservation areas: gates, walls and trees

A conservation area is a separate designation. The Planning Portal says that in a conservation area planning permission for relevant demolition, commonly called conservation area consent, is generally needed to demolish a gate, fence, wall or other means of enclosure with a height of one metre or more next to a highway, waterway or open space, or two metres or more elsewhere, subject to exemptions. That matters for anyone replacing a low boundary with a higher secure one. Trees in a conservation area are also protected: the local planning authority must be notified six weeks before work begins, which affects trimming a hedge or tree to clear a camera’s view. Boundary height limits for new fences and gates are covered in Front Fences, Walls and Gates: The Height Limits That Apply to Boundary Security in England.

A sensible order of work

• Check the National Heritage List entry and ask the local planning authority whether the property is listed or in a conservation area.
• If it is, describe the proposed alarm, camera and cable positions in writing and ask whether listed building consent or other permission is needed.
• Use an installer who is registered with a competent person scheme or a building control body when new electrical circuits are involved.

The bottom line

In England, alarms and CCTV are not normally a planning matter, but that general rule carries an explicit exception for listed buildings and conservation areas. Listed building consent is a separate regime, works that affect a listed building’s character without it are a criminal offence, and gates, walls and trees in a conservation area carry their own controls. A written enquiry to the local planning authority before drilling or fixing anything settles which rules apply. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own arrangements.

Sources

• Planning Portal, “Home security alarm”
• Planning Portal, “CCTV”
• Planning Portal, “Conservation Areas”
• GOV.UK, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, “Historic environment” (planning practice guidance)
• legislation.gov.uk, “Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, section 7 (Restriction on works affecting listed buildings)”
• legislation.gov.uk, “Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, section 9 (Offences)”

Deterrents that hurt people are a different category

Locks, lights, cameras and alarms deter without injuring anyone. A separate genre of “deterrent” is aimed at hurting whoever breaks in: a concealed spike, a wired-up electric shock, a rigged door or a spring-loaded device. This article summarises three sources: section 31 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 and section 1 of the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984, both as published on legislation.gov.uk, and the joint 2018 statement on householders by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the National Police Chiefs’ Council. The 1861 provision is marked as extending to England, Wales and Northern Ireland; the 1984 provision is marked as extending to England and Wales only. Scotland has its own law, which is outside this article.

The criminal offence: section 31 of the 1861 Act

Section 31 makes it an offence to set or place, or cause to be set or placed, a spring gun, man trap or other engine calculated to destroy human life or inflict grievous bodily harm, intending that it may do so to a trespasser or anyone else who comes into contact with it. A person who knowingly and wilfully allows such a device set by someone else to remain in a place in their possession or occupation is treated as having set it with that intent.

The section is old, and its text includes two provisos. The first says that nothing in it makes it illegal to set a gin or trap of the kind usually set to destroy vermin. The second says that it is not unlawful to set a spring gun, man trap or similar engine from sunset to sunrise in a dwelling house for its protection. Those exceptions are part of the statutory wording, but they do not stand alone: the civil duty and the CPS position described below still apply, so the night-time proviso should be read as a narrow exception in a nineteenth-century provision, not as approval of household traps.

The civil duty to trespassers: section 1 of the 1984 Act

In England and Wales, an occupier can owe a duty to someone who is not a lawful visitor. Section 1 sets out three conditions: the occupier is aware of the danger or has reasonable grounds to believe it exists; the occupier knows or has reasonable grounds to believe that the other person is in the vicinity of the danger or may come into it, whether or not they have lawful authority to be there; and the risk is one against which the occupier may reasonably be expected to offer some protection.

If those conditions are met, the duty is to take such care as is reasonable in all the circumstances to see that the person does not suffer injury on the premises by reason of the danger. The section is framed around dangers due to the state of the premises or to things done or omitted to be done on them. It says the duty may, in an appropriate case, be discharged by giving warning of the danger or discouraging people from running the risk. It also provides that no duty is owed for risks a person willingly accepts, and that a breach of the duty creates no liability for loss of or damage to property.

The Act concerns injury, and its duty arises only where all three conditions are met. Whether a particular device or hazard brings an occupier within it depends on the facts and is a matter for legal advice.

What the CPS and police say

The joint CPS and National Police Chiefs’ Council statement, revised in 2018, addresses householders confronted by an intruder. It says that reasonable force may be used in self-defence, that a householder acting in the heat of the moment is given the benefit of the doubt, and that disproportionate force used to protect property is still unlawful. It also gives an example of conduct that would be treated as very excessive and gratuitous force which could lead to prosecution: knowing of an intended intruder and setting a trap to hurt or kill them rather than involving the police.

The statement judges a householder who reacts in the moment by what they honestly and instinctively believed necessary; the trap example is treated differently because harm is prepared in advance. The full framework for confrontations is covered in Defending Your Home Against an Intruder: What ‘Reasonable Force’ Means in England and Wales.

Devices that people confuse with traps

• Anti-climb measures. Fixed obstacles on boundaries are a separate subject, treated in Anti-Climb Systems and Boundary Reinforcement.
• Guard dogs. A dog raises its own liability questions, covered in Dogs as a Deterrent: What UK Law Actually Says About Guard Dogs and Liability.
• Warning signs. Section 1 of the 1984 Act says a warning may discharge the duty in an appropriate case, but the Act does not say that a sign makes a dangerous device safe to install.

Deterrence that carries no injury risk

Deterrents that work by making a break-in slow, visible and likely to be recorded do not raise these questions. Good locks, lighting, visible cameras and a monitored or self-monitored alarm all work alongside a call to the police, which is the first step the CPS statement gives: wherever possible, call the police.

The bottom line

In England and Wales, a trap intended to injure an intruder is a different matter from defending oneself in the moment. Section 31 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 creates an offence for setting such devices, with narrow statutory provisos; section 1 of the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984 sets out when an occupier owes a duty of care to people who are not lawful visitors; and the CPS and police say that setting a trap to hurt an intruder instead of involving the police could lead to prosecution. The 1984 Act does not extend to Scotland or Northern Ireland, so the civil position there is outside this article. Security that is passive, visible and connected to a police response is the safer route.

Sources

• legislation.gov.uk, “Offences against the Person Act 1861, section 31 (Setting spring guns, &c., with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm)”
• legislation.gov.uk, “Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984, section 1 (Duty of occupier to persons other than his visitors)”
• Crown Prosecution Service and National Police Chiefs’ Council, “Householders and the use of force against intruders”

A phone-line change with a security consequence

Many older intruder alarms report to a monitoring centre through the household telephone line. The traditional landline network, the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), is being retired across the United Kingdom, and phone services are moving onto broadband. This article summarises GOV.UK guidance published on 28 May 2025, Ofcom’s consumer page on the switchover (last updated 26 August 2026) and National Security Inspectorate (NSI) advice for alarm owners. The change is UK-wide, although the timetable depends on which network carries the line.

What the timetable says

GOV.UK states that the telecommunications industry is switching off the PSTN by January 2027 and that devices reliant on it, including alarm systems, telecare devices and door entry systems, will need upgrading. It reports that over two thirds of UK landlines had already moved to internet-based voice services when the page was published.

Ofcom is more specific about networks. It says BT plans to retire its old landline network by 31 January 2027, so that customers of providers using the Openreach network should by then have moved to a digital landline or an alternative service. It adds that other companies with their own networks, including Virgin Media O2 and KCOM, also plan to retire their old networks but that dates for those had not been set.

Why an alarm may be affected

A digital landline works over a broadband connection. Ofcom explains that the phone is plugged into the broadband router rather than the wall socket. GOV.UK says that some people without broadband will be offered an interim dedicated landline service that lasts until a digital solution is available or until 2030, if that comes sooner.

The NSI, a certification body for alarm installers, explains the alarm-specific consequence. When a home moves to a digital service, a traditional telephone connection, including an intruder alarm, may no longer be able to send signals. The NSI says some alarm systems that use analogue telephone lines may not work on the digital service, others may work after minor modifications, and the alarm will likely need reconnecting once the phone service changes. It also stresses that not all systems will be affected and that replacement is not automatically needed.

The scale of the task was recognised early. In September 2023 the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) estimated that more than one million PSTN-connected alarm systems in the UK had not yet transitioned, and that many owners might be unaware changes were needed. That figure is a 2023 estimate, not a current count.

Who to tell, and when

Ofcom asks customers to tell their phone provider before the change if they have a care alarm, health pendant, security alarm or other connected device that uses the phone line. GOV.UK gives similar advice and adds that anyone buying a new alarm should check with the equipment supplier that it is compatible with digital phone lines.

The NSI advises contacting the alarm or maintenance provider before the line is upgraded, to find out whether the alarm needs adapting or replacing. If an alarm company proposes an upgrade, the NSI recommends asking for a detailed quote that explains why the change is necessary. Owners can also use the checks in Monitored Alarm Standards and Accreditation: Evidence Checks to confirm that a proposed installer is independently certified.

Power cuts and the digital line

Ofcom states that digital landlines need mains electricity and will not work in a power cut unless there is a battery back-up. It says that a customer who depends on the landline and lacks a working mobile phone or reliable mobile signal must be offered a free back-up solution that lasts at least one hour, with some providers offering up to seven hours. That requirement concerns access to emergency services, not the operation of an alarm signalling path, so an alarm’s own battery and communicator design still matter. The wider picture of outage risk is set out in Alarm Communication Failures: Broadband, Mobile and Power Outages.

A practical sequence

• Establish whether the alarm signals over the phone line, or uses a broadband or mobile communicator.
• Ask the alarm provider, in writing, whether the panel and communicator will work on a digital landline.
• Tell the phone provider about the alarm before any migration date.
• Test the alarm’s signalling after the migration and confirm with the monitoring provider that a test signal arrived.
• If a problem follows, contact the phone provider first. Ofcom says complaints can go to an alternative dispute resolution scheme if unresolved after six weeks or after a deadlock letter.

The bottom line

The retirement of the analogue phone network is a scheduled, UK-wide change, and BT’s network is due to be retired by 31 January 2027. An intruder alarm that signals over a landline can stop reporting without any visible fault, so the sensible course is to identify how the alarm communicates, ask the installer whether it is compatible, tell the phone provider before migration and test the signal afterwards. The NSI states that replacement is not necessarily required, and a written quote explaining any proposed upgrade is a reasonable request.

Sources

• GOV.UK, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, “Moving landlines to digital technologies”
• Ofcom, “Your landline is going digital: what you need to know”
• National Security Inspectorate, “UK transition from analogue to digital landlines”
• British Security Industry Association, “Installer toolkit developed to encourage end users to ‘Beat the Big Switch Off’” (27 September 2023)

A regulated industry

Homeowners and landlords who arrange a patrol, a key-holding service or monitored CCTV are often hiring people in a licensed trade without realising it. This article summarises GOV.UK guidance published by the Security Industry Authority (SIA), including “Find out if you need an SIA licence”, which was published on 14 October 2020 and last updated on 29 January 2026, the SIA’s “About us” page and the GOV.UK page on checking security staff. The SIA describes itself as the regulator of the UK’s private security industry, established under the Private Security Industry Act 2001, and says the Act covers England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Some details differ by nation and are noted below. This article is general information, not legal advice.

The regulated activities (UK-wide)

The SIA lists the activities covered by the Act as cash and valuables in transit, close protection, door supervision, public space surveillance (CCTV), security guarding and key holding, plus vehicle immobilisation in Northern Ireland only. The GOV.UK licensing guidance describes those relevant to homes and small sites as follows:

• Security guarding: guarding premises or property against damage, theft, unauthorised access or disorderly behaviour.
• Key holding: keeping, or controlling access to, any key or device for operating a lock.
• Public space surveillance (CCTV): identifying people or monitoring activities to guard premises against disorder or damage, or to protect people from assault or injury from unlawful conduct.

Contract for services versus in-house (UK-wide)

The guidance says a front line licence is needed when the work forms part of a “contract for services” and involves a licensable activity. It illustrates this with an employer that places a guard in a shop and charges the shop a fee, and with a self-employed business contracted to provide close protection. A person employed directly by the company that uses the services, such as a supermarket chain’s own guard, does not usually need a licence. Two activities require a licence even for in-house staff: door supervision at licensed premises, and vehicle immobilising, which applies only in Northern Ireland.

Directors and managers (UK-wide)

A director, partner, manager or supervisor of a business that supplies security operatives under contracts for services needs either a front line or a non-front line licence. Anyone who personally performs a licensable activity needs a front line licence whatever their job title.

CCTV and licensing (UK-wide)

An SIA response to a freedom of information request, published on GOV.UK, says a CCTV licence is needed when guarding premises, property or people by using CCTV to watch members of the public or identify particular people, or to guard against disorder or protect people from assault. It says licensable activity is not determined by the type of camera, such as pan-tilt-zoom equipment. A door supervisor, close protection or security guarding licence also covers using CCTV to identify a trespasser or protect property, but a CCTV licence is still needed where the work involves guarding against disorder or protecting people from assault.

Who does not need a licence (UK-wide)

The guidance lists people who do not need a licence. They include volunteers with an agreement that they will receive no payment or reward, people checking that visitors have paid or have an invitation (unless they then refuse entry or make people leave), stewards directing people to seats or facilities, and people responding to a sudden or unexpected event, such as a receptionist helping to evacuate a building when a fire alarm sounds. Certain airport staff are also exempt, as are in-house staff at a certified sports ground in England or Wales.

Checking a licence before hiring (UK-wide)

GOV.UK’s page on checking security staff says a person must check that someone has the correct licence before hiring them for private security work. The SIA’s public register of licence holders can be searched by the 16-digit licence number, or by surname with details such as date of birth and security role. It says a person could be fined or sent to prison for paying someone to work in security without the right SIA licence.

Approved contractors (UK-wide)

The SIA launched its Approved Contractor Scheme, which is voluntary, in 2006. The Register of Approved Contractors lists the organisations that have met its requirements. It can be filtered by licensable activity, including key holding, security guard and public space surveillance, and by region.

Alarms are a separate matter

Installing and monitoring intruder alarms do not appear among the SIA’s regulated activities. Certification of alarm installers by industry bodies is covered separately in this site’s article on NSI and SSAIB accreditation, and the standards that apply to monitored CCTV are explained in the article on BS 8418 and the police URN.

Common questions

Does an in-house employee need an SIA licence? Not usually, except for door supervision at licensed premises and, in Northern Ireland, vehicle immobilising.

Is the Approved Contractor Scheme compulsory? The SIA describes it as voluntary.

The bottom line

Under the Private Security Industry Act 2001, people who guard property, hold keys or watch CCTV for others under a contract for services generally need an SIA licence, and anyone hiring them is expected to check the register first. In-house employees are mostly exempt, alarm installation and monitoring are outside the licensing list, and the voluntary Approved Contractor Scheme offers a further check on companies.

Sources

• GOV.UK, “Find out if you need an SIA licence”
• Security Industry Authority (freedom of information response), GOV.UK, “Licensing requirements for the use of CCTV”
• GOV.UK, “Check security staff have a licence to work”
• Security Industry Authority, GOV.UK, “About us”
• Security Industry Authority, “Register of Approved Contractors”

Empty homes and the criminal law

Owners of second homes, inherited houses and rental properties between tenants often worry about what happens if someone moves in. This article summarises section 144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 as published on legislation.gov.uk, where the section is marked as extending to England and Wales, together with GOV.UK guidance on squatting law. The guidance on adverse possession applies to England. Scotland and Northern Ireland are outside the scope of this article because the section does not extend to them and they have separate law. This is general information, not legal advice.

The offence in section 144 (England and Wales)

A person commits the offence if three conditions are met. The person must be in a residential building as a trespasser, having entered it as a trespasser. The person must know or ought to know that they are a trespasser. And the person must be living in the building, or intend to live there, for any period.

The section treats a person who derives title from a trespasser, or has a trespasser’s permission, as still being a trespasser. It also applies whether the person entered before or after the section came into force.

What counts as a residential building (England and Wales)

Section 144 defines a building as any structure or part of a structure, including a temporary or moveable structure. A building is residential if it was designed or adapted, before the time of entry, for use as a place to live. The definition looks at the building’s design or adaptation before entry, not at whether anyone was living in it at the time. That is why the offence can cover an empty house or a flat between tenancies.

Tenants and others who remain (England and Wales)

The offence is not committed by a person holding over after the end of a lease or licence, even if the person leaves and re-enters the building. GOV.UK’s overview says that people who had the landlord’s permission at the start, such as tenants in rent arrears, are not classified as squatters. A former tenant who stays on is therefore outside the squatting offence.

Penalty and police powers (England and Wales)

The section provides for conviction on a summary basis, meaning in the magistrates’ court. The statute, as revised on legislation.gov.uk, expresses the penalty as imprisonment not exceeding 51 weeks or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or both, and it applies a limit of six months to offences committed before section 281(5) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 commenced. GOV.UK’s plain-English overview gives the penalty as up to six months in prison, a £5,000 fine or both. Where the two differ, the text of the statute is the primary source.

Subsection (8) amends section 17 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, which deals with entry for the purpose of arrest, so that the squatting offence is added to the list of offences to which that power of entry relates.

Non-residential property (England and Wales)

GOV.UK says squatting in a non-residential building or land is not in itself a crime. It describes a non-residential property as any building or land that is not designed to be lived in. Criminal offences can still arise from what people do while there. GOV.UK lists damaging the property during entry or occupation, refusing to leave after a court order, theft, unauthorised use of utilities such as electricity and gas, fly-tipping and breaching a noise abatement notice. It advises contacting the police if someone is seen breaking into or damaging a property.

Failing to leave when required (England and Wales)

GOV.UK’s overview says that failing to leave when told to do so by the property owner, the police or the council, or following a repossession order, typically constitutes an offence. For owners, the practical significance is that the offence in section 144 sits alongside these other routes rather than replacing them.

Adverse possession (England)

Separate from the criminal offence is the civil route by which long occupation can lead to a claim to ownership. GOV.UK says a squatter can apply if they, or a succession of squatters, have occupied the property continuously for 10 years, or 12 years if it is not registered with HM Land Registry, and acted as owners throughout without the owner’s permission. For registered land, an application goes to HM Land Registry with a statement of truth, the owner is notified and has 65 days to object, and the application is usually rejected automatically if they do. The applicant can apply again after two years if the owner has not tried to remove them, the property has not been reclaimed and they remain in possession. The guidance applies to England.

Insurance and security angles

Long vacancy affects insurance as well as security. This site’s article on the Financial Ombudsman and unoccupied property claims sets out what the Ombudsman says about claims on unoccupied homes, and the holiday checklist covers routine precautions for a home left for a short time.

Common questions

Is squatting a crime everywhere in the UK? Section 144 extends to England and Wales only. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate law.

Is a shop or garage covered by section 144? Only residential buildings are covered. GOV.UK says occupying non-residential property is not in itself a crime.

Does a former tenant who stays on commit the offence? Section 144 says no for a person holding over after the end of a lease or licence.

The bottom line

In England and Wales, entering a residential building as a trespasser and living there, or intending to, is a criminal offence under section 144, whether or not the building is occupied at the time. Non-residential property is different, since occupying it is not itself a crime, though damage, theft and utility abuse are. Long occupation can also support a civil claim to ownership in England after 10 or 12 years, depending on registration.

Sources

• legislation.gov.uk, “Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, section 144 (Offence of squatting in a residential building)”
• GOV.UK, “Squatting and the law: Overview”
• GOV.UK, “Squatting and the law: Squatting in non-residential properties”
• GOV.UK, “Squatting and the law: Squatters’ rights to property”

Statutory rights sit behind every purchase

A smart lock that drains its batteries in a week, a camera that never connects or an alarm panel that fails after a month raises the same question: what is the shop obliged to do? This article summarises Part 1 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 as published on legislation.gov.uk, covering sections 9, 19, 22, 23, 24, 33 and 34. The Act applies across the United Kingdom, including England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the legislation site notes no Scotland-specific variation in section 19. The legislation site records pending amendments to some of these sections under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, so the current text should be checked for the exact remedy steps. This article is general information, not legal advice.

What the goods must be like (UK-wide)

Section 9 implies a term that the quality of goods is satisfactory in every contract to supply goods to a consumer. Quality is judged by what a reasonable person would consider satisfactory, taking account of the description, the price and all other relevant circumstances. The section lists aspects of quality that may be relevant: fitness for all the purposes for which goods of that kind are usually supplied, appearance and finish, freedom from minor defects, safety and durability.

Public statements matter. The section treats statements about specific characteristics made publicly by the trader or the producer, particularly in advertising or labelling, as relevant circumstances. A published claim about a device’s battery life or connectivity is therefore part of the picture. The term does not cover defects specifically drawn to the consumer’s attention before the contract was made, or defects that an examination before purchase should have revealed.

The range of remedies (UK-wide)

Section 19 lists what a consumer can do when goods do not conform to the contract. For a breach of the statutory terms in sections 9 to 14, there are three tiers: the short-term right to reject, the right to repair or replacement, and the right to a price reduction or the final right to reject.## The 30-day right to reject (UK-wide)

Under section 22, the short-term right to reject ends at the close of 30 days beginning with the first day after ownership or possession has passed, the goods have been delivered and any required installation has been completed. For a hard-wired doorbell or an alarm that needs fitting, the clock therefore starts once the installation is complete. The section says the right cannot be lost through prior agreement before the time limit ends. If the consumer asks for a repair or replacement, the 30-day period can be suspended. If replacement goods also fail to conform, the consumer has 7 days from receiving them or the rest of the original period, whichever is longer.

Repair or replacement (UK-wide)

Section 23 gives the consumer the right to require repair or replacement. The trader must do this within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience, and must bear any necessary costs, including labour, materials and postage. The consumer cannot require a remedy that is impossible or disproportionate compared with the alternative. Disproportion is judged against the value of conforming goods, the significance of the lack of conformity and whether the other remedy would cause the consumer significant inconvenience. Section 23 also says a consumer who requires or agrees to a repair cannot require a replacement without first giving the trader a reasonable time to carry out the repair, unless that would cause the consumer significant inconvenience.

Price reduction and the final right to reject (UK-wide)

Section 24 allows a consumer to require a reduction in price, up to the full price where appropriate, or to exercise the final right to reject. The final right to reject arises only when repair or replacement has failed, cannot be carried out, or was not done within a reasonable time. If the final right to reject is exercised within six months of the start date, no deduction may be made for use. Outside that window the refund can be reduced to reflect use, except in specified situations. Section 19 also reverses the burden of proof for the first six months after delivery: goods that do not conform within six months are taken not to have conformed on the delivery date.

Apps and connected features (UK-wide)

Smart devices depend on software. Section 33 brings digital content supplied free with paid goods or services within the Act’s digital content chapter, so long as it is not generally available without payment. Section 34 then implies a term that digital content is of satisfactory quality. Whether a particular companion app falls within these sections depends on how it is supplied, but a lock or camera that cannot be used without a failing app illustrates why the two chapters are read together.

Common questions

Does the trader or the manufacturer carry the rights? The statutory terms are implied into the contract between the consumer and the trader, so the remedies run against the trader that sold the goods.

Can the retailer’s terms shorten the 30 days? Section 22 says the right cannot be lost through prior agreement before the limit ends.

The bottom line

Across the UK, a smart lock, camera or alarm must be of satisfactory quality, and a consumer can reject faulty goods within 30 days, require repair or replacement, and then seek a price reduction or a final rejection if the fix fails. Within six months of delivery a non-conforming item is presumed to have been faulty on delivery, and a final rejection in that window allows no deduction for use.

Sources

• legislation.gov.uk, “Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (Goods to be of satisfactory quality)”
• legislation.gov.uk, “Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 19 (Consumer’s rights to enforce terms about goods)”
• legislation.gov.uk, “Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 22 (Time limit for short-term right to reject)”
• legislation.gov.uk, “Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 23 (Right to repair or replacement)”
• legislation.gov.uk, “Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 24 (Right to price reduction or final right to reject)”
• legislation.gov.uk, “Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 33 (Digital content contracts to which this Chapter applies)”
• legislation.gov.uk, “Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 34 (Digital content to be of satisfactory quality)”

Boundary security starts with planning rules

A taller fence or a solid gate is one of the first ideas householders reach for after a burglary scare. In England, the height at which a boundary structure needs planning permission depends mainly on whether it sits next to a road. This article summarises the Planning Portal’s guidance on fences, gates and garden walls, which applies to England only, the text of Class A of Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, and section 164 of the Highways Act 1980, which extends to England and Wales. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own planning rules, which are outside the scope of this article. It is general information, not legal advice.

The two height limits (England)

The Planning Portal says planning permission is not needed to erect, alter, maintain, improve or take down a fence, wall or gate where it is next to a highway used by vehicles, or the footpath of such a highway, and it would not exceed one metre in height from ground level. Elsewhere the limit is two metres from ground level.

Class A of the 2015 Order gives the underlying right. It covers the erection, construction, maintenance, improvement or alteration of a gate, fence, wall or other means of enclosure. The Order sets the same one-metre limit where the structure is adjacent to a highway used by vehicular traffic and two metres in other cases. It also provides a specific rule for schools, which is not relevant to homes.

Replacing or altering an existing boundary (England)

The Order says that where an existing structure is maintained, improved or altered, it must not exceed its original height or the applicable limit for a new structure, whichever is greater. The Planning Portal similarly says the right is not available where an existing fence, wall or gate already exceeds the limits and its height would be increased. Replacing a fence like for like is therefore treated differently from raising it.

When the right does not apply (England)

The Planning Portal lists conditions under which the height allowances cannot be used:

• the site is a listed building or lies within the curtilage of one;
• the boundary forms a boundary with a neighbouring listed building or its curtilage; or
• the right has been removed by an Article 4 direction or a planning condition.

Class A itself excludes development within the curtilage of, or affecting an enclosure surrounding, a listed building. The Planning Portal adds that in a conservation area, permission might be needed to take down a fence, wall or gate, and that additional local rules may affect what is required.

What this means for front boundaries (England)

A boundary running along a public road, and therefore adjacent to a highway used by vehicles, cannot be raised above one metre under this right. A solid two-metre front fence or wall beside a road would need planning permission unless another route applies. A boundary that is not adjacent to a highway used by vehicles falls under the higher two-metre limit, subject to the exceptions above, so a fence between two back gardens is treated differently from a front wall.

Gates follow the same rules as fences and walls. Where a gate is powered or an automatic barrier, planning height limits are only one of the requirements, and the health and safety duties are covered in this site’s article on powered gates and automatic barriers. Physical deterrents such as climbing barriers are discussed in the guide to anti-climb systems.

Hedges (England)

The Planning Portal states that planning permission is not needed for hedges, although restrictions may apply where covenants or planning conditions govern planting. A dense boundary hedge is not covered by the fence height limits, though it remains subject to any conditions attached to the property.

Barbed wire beside a highway (England and Wales)

Section 164 of the Highways Act 1980 addresses barbed wire on land next to a highway. It applies where the wire is a nuisance to the highway because it is likely to be injurious to people or animals lawfully using the highway. The highway authority, or the local authority for the area, can serve written notice on the occupier of the land requiring the nuisance to be dealt with within a period of not less than one month and not more than six months. If the notice is ignored, the authority can seek a magistrates’ court order, and if that is ignored it may remove the wire and recover the cost from the occupier. The text is framed around barbed wire and does not mention other deterrent products.

Common questions

Does a fence panel replacement need planning permission in England? Not where the right in Class A applies and the height stays within the original height or the applicable limit, whichever is greater.

Does a front wall of 1.5 metres by a residential road need permission? On the Planning Portal’s wording, a structure adjacent to a vehicular highway above one metre falls outside the permitted development right.

How can an owner tell whether an Article 4 direction applies? The right can be removed by an Article 4 direction or a condition attached to the property, and the Planning Portal advises checking for additional local rules before applying or starting work.

The bottom line

In England, a fence, wall or gate next to a road can generally be built or altered without planning permission up to one metre, and up to two metres elsewhere, unless the property is listed, forms a boundary with a listed neighbour, or the right has been withdrawn by an Article 4 direction or condition. Anyone planning taller front boundary security should confirm the position with the local planning authority first, and in England and Wales the barbed wire power in the Highways Act 1980 sits alongside the planning rules.

Sources

• Planning Portal, “Fences, gates and garden walls: planning permission”
• legislation.gov.uk, “The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, Schedule 2, Part 2 (Minor operations)”
• legislation.gov.uk, “Highways Act 1980, section 164 (Power to require removal of barbed wire)”

A separate regime for audible alarms

An alarm that keeps sounding after the owner has left for the airport is a neighbourhood problem as much as a security one. This article summarises GOV.UK guidance for councils on noise from intruder alarms, which states that it applies to England and was last updated on 21 December 2017, together with the text of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 and the Environmental Protection Act 1990 as published on legislation.gov.uk. The alarm provisions of the 2005 Act extend to England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate arrangements that are outside the scope of this article, which is general information and not legal advice.

Alarm noise as a statutory nuisance (England and Wales)

Section 79(1)(g) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 lists noise emitted from premises so as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance as a statutory nuisance. The legislation carries separate versions for England and Wales and for Scotland. GOV.UK guidance for England says councils must look into complaints about noise that may amount to a statutory nuisance and must serve an abatement notice where one exists or is anticipated.

For alarms specifically, the guidance says councils can issue an abatement notice, which they must do if an alarm is causing a statutory nuisance, and a warning notice for noise between 11pm and 7am. The guidance presents these notices and the alarm notification area scheme described below as separate tools.

Alarm notification areas (England and Wales)

Section 69 of the 2005 Act allows a local authority to designate all or part of its area as an alarm notification area. The authority must publish a proposal in a local newspaper, allow at least 28 days for representations, consider them and publish its decision, which takes effect at least 28 days after notification. Legislation.gov.uk records that section 69 came into force on 6 April 2006 in England and on 15 March 2007 in Wales. Section 70 deals with withdrawing a designation. Designation is optional: the section says a local authority “may” designate.

Once an area is designated, section 71 requires the responsible person for premises with an installed audible intruder alarm to nominate a key-holder and to notify the council in writing of the key-holder’s name, address and telephone number. Failing to do so is an offence punishable on summary conviction by a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale, which GOV.UK guidance gives as up to £1,000.

Section 72 sets the timing. The nomination must be made within 28 days of the designation taking effect, where the alarm already existed, or of the installation being completed. A replacement must be nominated within 28 days of the responsible person learning that a key-holder no longer meets the requirements.

Fixed penalties (England and Wales)

Sections 73 and 74 allow an authorised officer to offer a fixed penalty as an alternative to prosecution for the key-holder offence. No proceedings can begin until 14 days after the notice is given. The amount is whatever the local authority specifies for its area or, if none is specified, £75. GOV.UK guidance says the amount is between £50 and £80.

Who can act as a key-holder (England and Wales)

Section 72 and the GOV.UK guidance set out the conditions. A key-holder must:

• hold keys that give access to the alarm controls;
• live or work near the premises;
• know how to silence the alarm; and
• have agreed to act.

For residential premises, the key-holder must be a person who is not the occupier or a key-holding company, which section 72 describes as a business whose activities include key-holding and which operates around the clock. For non-residential premises, the owner or occupier, a representative or a key-holding company can act.

Entry to silence an alarm (England and Wales)

Section 77 gives an authorised council officer a power of entry to silence an audible intruder alarm when three conditions are met. The alarm must have sounded continuously for more than 20 minutes, or intermittently for more than an hour. The sound must be likely to give people living or working nearby reasonable cause for annoyance. In a designated alarm notification area, reasonable steps must also have been taken to get the nominated key-holder to silence it.

The section says an officer may not enter by force and must show evidence of authority on request. GOV.UK guidance adds that a warrant is needed if force is required.

Practical points for alarm owners (England and Wales)

Owners can reduce the chance of a call-out by keeping key-holder details current and by making sure the nominated person can reach the property quickly. Repeated false triggers are a separate problem with their own causes, covered in this site’s root-cause checklist for repeated false alerts. How police treat unverified alarms is a different question from council noise powers and is explained in the article on unverified alarm response.

Common questions

Can a council break in to silence an alarm in England or Wales? Section 77 excludes entry by force, and GOV.UK guidance says a warrant is needed if force is required.

Does every council operate an alarm notification area? No. Section 69 makes designation a choice for each authority, and the notices are published locally and sent to premises in the area.

Who receives the fixed penalty notice? The offence under section 71 concerns the responsible person for the premises, so the notice is directed at the person who failed to notify key-holder details.

The bottom line

In England and Wales, a stuck or persistent burglar alarm can be dealt with as a statutory noise nuisance and, in areas a council has designated, through key-holder registration backed by fixed penalties of £75 by default. Officers can enter without force after 20 minutes of continuous sounding or an hour of intermittent sounding, once reasonable steps to reach a key-holder have been taken. Owners in a designated area should register a suitable key-holder within 28 days.

Sources

• GOV.UK, “Noise nuisances: how councils deal with complaints”
• legislation.gov.uk, “Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, section 69 (Designation of alarm notification areas)”
• legislation.gov.uk, “Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, section 70 (Withdrawal of designation)”
• legislation.gov.uk, “Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, section 71 (Notification of nominated key-holders)”
• legislation.gov.uk, “Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, section 72 (Nomination of key-holders)”
• legislation.gov.uk, “Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, section 73 (Fixed penalty notices)”
• legislation.gov.uk, “Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, section 74 (Amount of fixed penalty)”
• legislation.gov.uk, “Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, section 77 (Power of entry)”
• legislation.gov.uk, “Environmental Protection Act 1990, section 79 (Statutory nuisances and inspections therefor)”