How aware are social landlords of the level of security in resident buildings?
A survey by Inside Housing and security and safety specialist JELD-WEN finds out how the sector feels about safety and security across their housing stock
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Flats present a range of security challenges for landlords. Residential blocks have hundreds of people accessing common spaces and properties throughout the day and night and, as a result, breaches can occur.
In 2022, there were 148,788 burglaries reported in England and Wales, according to the Office for National Statistics – an average of 408 a day.
Internal breaches are equally important – particularly when it comes to fire safety. Legislative changes in January made it a legal requirement for all multi-occupancy residential buildings in England (over 11 metres) to undertake quarterly checks on all fire doors. They must now also undertake annual checks on flat entrance doors that lead to a building’s common parts.
So, how confident are landlords about the level of safety and security provided across their stock? This was explored in an exclusive survey launched by Inside Housing, in association with security and safety specialist JELD-WEN.
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How safe are houses?
Findings showed that many respondents believed the level of security offered across their housing blocks falls short, with a significant 59% revealing they had some form of security breach over the past 12 months.
A total of 113 participants took part in the survey, of which 62% were from housing associations and 12% were from local authorities/combined authorities.
The majority of respondents (65%) said at least half of their tenants lived in multi-occupancy properties, such as apartment blocks or communal living spaces, which perhaps gives an idea about the types of properties that are vulnerable to security breaches.
When looking at the volume of security breaches over the past 12 months, two-fifths of respondents said they had less than 20 security breaches, while a further 24% said they had between 20 and 49 breaches.
A total of 4% of respondents said they had more than 100 security breaches over this period, with 6% saying between 50 and 65. This was despite nearly 80% of respondents saying they had installed security measures on their communal entrance points, such as secure doorsets and CCTV.
Respondents stated that tenant mistakes, such as leaving doors open or letting someone into the building, was the top reason for a security breach, with over a third highlighting this as the main cause.
A further 46% of respondents said a lack of understanding among their tenants about security protocols was a top challenge for them in delivering high-quality security, which poses a question around how landlords are engaging with their tenants.
When asked how they engage with residents, the majority of respondents (nearly 70%) said they used communal noticeboards to communicate security information, with a further near-60% saying they communicated face-to-face. A smaller 43% said they used email, while just under a third used the phone.
Other reasons for security breaches included faulty entry doors (26%) and a lack of additional security (7%). Survey participants also anecdotally said issues such as vandalism and anti-social behaviour were at fault.
Glyn Hauser, R&D senior group manager at JELD-WEN, says: “The sheer scale of security breaches taking place is concerning, especially the reasons why they’re happening – with a large majority attributed to doors that have been left open or have faulty locks: issues that are easily preventable. Clearly, there is an awareness task in terms of educating residents about following the right security protocols.
“However, along with the latest CCTV and security tech, it’s important that landlords do not overlook the most effective security device of all – a secure front door. By investing in a certified, purpose-built doorset, landlords have the best chance of reducing risk and keeping their properties secure.”
Asked whether tenant engagement was a less expensive way of improving security, survey participant and housing manager, Catherine Barrett, who works across the sector, says that while “old-fashioned good tenant engagement was always the best, the assumption that it’s low cost” is not necessarily accurate.
She continues: “If you’ve got a block with a high turnover [of tenants], you’ve got to do a lot of work upfront when you let the property about how you manage it, making sure you’ve got the right mix of tenants in there and making sure those people understand the importance of not letting in a delivery at 11pm, for example, because the person could just be using that as a means to gain entry.”
Location
The location of blocks of flats was also a factor in breaches, with 63% of respondents saying inner city blocks were more likely to experience security problems.
One respondent explained: “There are a lot of drug users in the city blocks and they like to tailgate tenants when they are entering the block. Drug users try to enter to meet their friends who are users as well.”
A number of other respondents said that inner city locations had more footfall, resulting in more people trying to gain access to buildings.
In numbers
59%
Respondents who had suffered a security breach in past 12 months
26%
Respondents who stated faulty fire doors were the reason for security breaches
4%
Proportion who had suffered more than 100 breaches in past 12 months
Elsewhere, of the 91% of respondents who said they had carried out inspections in the past two years on their internal fire doors, half said the inspector had discovered flaws. These were wide ranging and included doors that were not fully closed, as well as those in need of repair such as fire doors that were missing smoke seals or had damaged hinges.
This finding chimes with research by the Fire Door Inspection Scheme last year, which revealed that from 100,000 inspections, 75% of fire doors had some flaws.
Asked whether the security measures they had in place were adequate, nearly 40% of respondents said ‘no’.
Security did not rank highly on organisations’ list of priorities among other industry issues, with a third of respondents giving it an importance of ‘3’ on a scale of 1-5 (5 being of low importance).
On this, Mr Hauser says: “It’s interesting that the survey revealed that for the large majority of tenants, housing security measures are still not seen as a top priority.
“Understandably, the housing sector continues to face many challenges, including an escalating deficit, legislation and a tough economy. But ultimately, everyone has a right to feel safe at home and the urgent need to improve security standards and fire safety cannot fall by the wayside.”
Other challenges in delivering high-quality security included the cost of implementation (37%) and a lack of understanding within procurement about what security products were in the market (21%).
