Going away from home should mean switching off from everyday worries. But if your home alarm goes off while you are at work, visiting family or away on holiday, what actually happens?
If you have a monitored alarm, the activation can be passed to your alarm monitoring provider. However, someone may still need to attend your property to check what has happened and make sure your home is secure.
This is where a residential keyholding and alarm response service can help.
Instead of relying on a neighbour, family member or yourself to attend an alarm activation, a professional keyholder can respond on your behalf.
What happens when a home alarm goes off?
When your home alarm is activated, the response will depend on the type of alarm and monitoring service you have in place.
An alarm activation may be caused by a genuine security incident, but there can also be other reasons for an alarm to trigger, such as a fault, accidental activation or environmental factors.
If your alarm is monitored, the monitoring service can receive the activation and follow the agreed response procedure.
Where a physical response is required, a professional keyholder can attend the property.
They can assess the situation, check the property and take appropriate action to help secure your home.
What if I am on holiday when my alarm goes off?
This is one of the main reasons homeowners choose professional keyholding.
If you are hundreds of miles away or in another country, you cannot simply return home to investigate an alarm activation.
You may have previously given a spare key to a trusted neighbour or family member, but this can create its own problems. They may be away themselves, unavailable at the time or understandably uncomfortable with attending a property following an alarm activation.
With professional residential keyholding, your keys are securely held by a trained security company, allowing an authorised keyholder to attend when required.
This means you can continue your holiday knowing there is someone available to respond if your alarm activates.
Should a neighbour respond to your home alarm?
Asking a neighbour to keep an eye on your property can be helpful, but expecting them to attend an alarm activation is different.
If there has been an attempted break-in, your neighbour could potentially be putting themselves in an unsafe situation by attending the property.
There is also no guarantee that they will be available when the alarm goes off.
A professional keyholding service removes that responsibility from your neighbours and provides a trained security professional to respond instead.
What is residential keyholding?
Residential keyholding is a security service where a professional security company securely holds a spare set of keys to your home.
If your alarm activates while you are unavailable, the keyholder can attend your property on your behalf.
A keyholding service can therefore provide an important link between your alarm system and a physical response at your property.
At Surety Keyholding, our residential keyholding and alarm response service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
How does residential alarm response work?
The exact process depends on your individual security arrangements, but a typical response involves:
Your alarm activates and the relevant monitoring process begins.
The alarm activation is passed for response in accordance with your agreed procedures.
A trained keyholder attends your property using the securely held keys.
The property is assessed to establish what has happened.
Appropriate action is taken to help protect and secure the property.
Emergency assistance or repairs can be arranged where required.
The aim is to make sure that someone can physically attend your home when you are unable to do so yourself.
What happens if there has been a break-in?
If a keyholder attends following an alarm activation and discovers signs of a break-in or damage to the property, the priority is to deal with the situation safely and help secure the premises.
This could include arranging emergency repairs where necessary, such as securing damaged doors, windows or locks.
A professional keyholding service can therefore provide more than simply someone with a spare set of keys. It provides a planned response to situations where your property needs attention and you are unable to attend.
Do I need a keyholder if I already have a monitored alarm?
A monitored alarm and a keyholding service perform different roles.
Your alarm is designed to detect an event and raise an alert. Monitoring can then ensure that the activation is dealt with according to your agreed security arrangements.
However, if someone needs to physically attend the property, you still need an appropriate response.
This is why professional keyholding and alarm response can complement an existing alarm system.
A keyholder can attend the property, assess the situation and help secure it when necessary.
How are my house keys kept secure?
It is completely understandable to have questions about giving your house keys to a security company.
At Surety Keyholding, keys are securely stored and are not labelled with information that identifies the property.
This means your keys can be accessed by authorised personnel when required without having obvious details linking them directly to your home.
How quickly will a keyholder attend?
When an alarm activation requires a physical response, Surety Keyholding responds immediately.
However, it is important to understand that a specific arrival time cannot always be guaranteed. Response times can be affected by factors such as traffic, road conditions and other active duties.
The important thing is that there is a professional response procedure in place, rather than leaving you or a neighbour responsible for deciding what to do.
Who can benefit from residential keyholding?
Residential keyholding can be useful for anyone who wants additional reassurance that their property can be attended when they are unavailable.
It can be particularly useful if you:
Regularly travel for work
Go away on holiday frequently
Own a second home
Spend extended periods away from your property
Work irregular or long hours
Currently rely on neighbours or family members to respond to your alarm
Do not want to attend an alarm activation yourself
Want additional security for your home while you are away
You do not need to be away for weeks at a time to benefit. An alarm can activate at any time, including when you are at work, out for the evening or simply unable to get home.
What if my home alarm goes off when I am at work?
The same principle applies.
If you cannot attend your property, having a professional keyholder means you have someone who can respond on your behalf.
This can be particularly reassuring for people who work some distance from home or have jobs that make it difficult to leave immediately.
Instead of worrying about whether a neighbour can get there, you have an established professional response in place.
Is residential keyholding worth it?
For many homeowners, the main benefit of residential keyholding is simple: peace of mind.
An alarm can alert you to a potential problem, but an alarm alone cannot physically attend your property.
Professional keyholding provides that additional layer of protection by giving you access to a trained security response when you cannot be there yourself.
It can also mean your neighbours and family members do not have to take responsibility for attending your home following an alarm activation.
Residential keyholding and alarm response from Surety Keyholding
Surety Keyholding provides professional residential keyholding and alarm response services, with 24/7 support available for homeowners.
Our trained, SIA-licensed security personnel can respond to alarm activations and attend properties when the homeowner is unable to do so.
We can also arrange emergency assistance where required to help secure a property following an incident.
Whether you are going away on holiday, regularly work away from home or simply want the reassurance of knowing someone can respond to your alarm, professional residential keyholding can provide an additional layer of security for your home.
Find out more about Surety Keyholding’s residential keyholding and alarm response service or contact our team to discuss your requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do if my home alarm goes off while I am away?
If you have a monitored alarm, follow the agreed procedure with your alarm monitoring provider. If you have professional keyholding in place, the keyholder can attend your property and assess the situation on your behalf.
Can someone respond to my house alarm while I am on holiday?
Yes, a professional residential keyholding service allows a trained keyholder to attend your property when you are unavailable, including while you are away on holiday.
Do I need a keyholder for my home alarm?
Not every homeowner will need a professional keyholding service, but it can be particularly useful if you are regularly away from home or do not have someone suitable and willing to respond to alarm activations.
Can my neighbour be my keyholder?
You can make your own arrangements with a neighbour, but a professional keyholding service provides a trained security response and removes the responsibility from friends, family and neighbours.
What is the difference between alarm monitoring and keyholding?
Alarm monitoring is designed to receive and manage alarm activations. Keyholding provides a physical response to the property when someone needs to attend. The two services can work together as part of a wider home security arrangement.
Can a keyholder secure my home after a break-in?
If a property has been damaged following an incident, a professional keyholding service can take appropriate steps to help secure the property. Emergency repairs can also be arranged where necessary.
Is residential keyholding available 24/7?
Yes, Surety Keyholding provides a 24/7 residential keyholding and alarm response service.
How do I set up residential keyholding?
The first step is to discuss your requirements with a professional keyholding provider. Surety Keyholding can arrange the necessary checks and key handover before the service begins, ensuring the response arrangements are in place should your alarm activate.
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