Covid-19 has caused widespread disruption to businesses across the UK, with many companies switching to a remote working model. Some smaller organisations are no longer able to fit into their previous workspace due to changes in social distancing requirements. For businesses like these, they are choosing not to extend their commercial leases and are giving up their offices entirely. In the residential sector, landlords are dealing with a mass exodus of tenants from the city, along with a lack of foreign students to rent to.
The consequence of all this change is a significant rise in vacant properties cropping up across the nation, particularly in the cities. As squatting is only illegal in residential properties, and not in commercial premises, landlords should be motivated to provide advanced security to safeguard their valuable assets.
Securing the perimeter of your vacant property
The external boundary of your property will vary depending on the size and scope of the building. It may be as simple as putting up fencing between the property and access to the street. In larger premises, there may be considerable exterior space between the main access point to the property and a more public area. To provide watertight vacant property security, you will need to clearly define exactly where your property ends and the next building, or public space, begins. Locating your boundaries also provides you with clarity about the best positions to install your advanced surveillance technology.
Providing a warning to trespassers
Your boundary should be equipped with clear signage which delineates the exact line which trespassers should not cross. We can also install a 120dB siren which will play out an audio warning message in the event that anyone tries to breach the barrier.
Surveillance Technology
Vacant properties should be monitored at all times, due to the potential that they offer for intrusion. If you no longer have any utilities in place, then we have some excellent surveillance options which operate perfectly without a connection to the mains:
Wireless Video Verification
When you install our wireless video alarms, you can be assured that your vacant property site is being watched 24/7. Our verification alarms can be installed in just a few short hours – we use PIRs to create 10 second video clips which are sent to our NSI Gold certified monitoring station in the event of a security event. If this is deemed to be an authentic breach, then professional SIA responders will arrive on your vacant property site in a matter of minutes to confront the intruders.
Sicuro Solar CCTV
CCTV is an excellent visual deterrent to any opportunist criminals who have been considering a break-in of your vacant property. Although we can supply mains-powered CCTV cameras to cover every section of your site, we also offer the Sicuro Solar product as a standalone tower. By using fuel cell technology in combination with thermal cameras, this will ensure the safeguarding of your vacant property for up to six months before a refuel and service is required.
Arranging Your Vacant Property Security
The best time to start protecting your vacant property is today. The longer you wait, the more potential there is for an intrusion to occur. For your reassurance, we are also able to supply manned patrols to visit your vacant site on a scheduled or ad-hoc basis.
If you are interested in providing your unoccupied building with robust security, then give Sicuro a call and we will conduct a FREE no obligation site review.
