Is a key safe actually safe

[Lovelybitofsquirrel3]

What’s stopping someone ripping it off the wall, breaking it, getting my house key and entering.

I wonder about that too…

They're probably harder to break into that breaking into your house another way. We have one and I would fancy my chances breaking a window more easily than the safe.

They are incredibly difficult to get off the wall and if you do getting in to them is almost impossible for the sturdier ones. You'd need some pretty high tech tools to break into them. We have one at home and at family houses.

What's stopping someone smashing your door open? What's stopping someone digging a tunnel into my living room? What's stopping a spooky clown from living in my loft? Oh god, is that what that noise is? A clown? Get out! KIDS, GET OUT NOW!

That. They’d be pretty hard to break into inconspicuously. Plus the person would be on camera at our house which is an extra layer of deterrent.

You'd need to sledgehammer it off the wall and then drill it open.

So if you ever hear that sort of commotion outside your house, put the chain on 😁

I managed to lose my house key the other day £250+ bill. Wanted a key safe, ordered it then realised it might just be broken into anyway. There’s just a lot of drug addicts around here, knife crime, windows smashed. Every now and then a house gets broken into. It’s worrying

£250 for a new key?!

It was an emergency call out and they needed to change both the locks and give me new keys

I think there's key safes, and then there's key safes. Some are better than others. Some have a seal of approval from the police, eg:

https://www.assuredmobilityltd.co.uk/product/police-accredited-keysafe/

(I haven't tried it myself)

I had similar misgivings - I've recently installed one, and it's very firmly drilled into the wall, it's very robust. So in that respect they are secure.

I did find it more difficult coming to terms with why it was needed (frequent carer visits), once I wrapped my head round this was something which gave me more freedom, rather than opened up risk - I found it easier.

Ours was installed by a reputable locksmith. Can't get it off the wall without opening it up and it's very sturdy. We do remove the key when we are on holiday though.

It’s impossible to open without the code.
My relative had one that belong to a previous tenant and tried to force it open as he didn’t know the code. Wrecked the sides of it but could not get into it.

We've got that one, it is very sturdy indeed.

OP I think you are wary with good reason (druggies in your area, knife crime and general not very nice-ness) but a keysafe like the one in the link above would be a good idea. Locate it where you can see the numberlock without having to bother with getting your phone/torch out and drawing attention to yourself (this also will help with visibility of any person with nefarious intent).

If it's only for you in case of losing a key (not to give people like carers access) then hide it. Ours is hidden behind a dense bush on the wall. It's not right near the door either.

We could get to it if needed but if you didn't already know it was there, then you wouldn't spot it.

It's very sturdy and I don't think anyone could get in it, but did that as an extra step just in case!

I use the milk pot. Probably not the best idea.

We have one, nowhere else to put it except front wall of house. We had to get a locksmith to fit it, the screws were really long, and needed a special sort of implement for the heads. It's been opened a couple of times, but as they don't know the number, they can't get the keys ! It's a police reccomended one.

They're really sturdy, I don't think you could smash one open in any sort of way that wouldn't draw masses of attention. That's if you could get it off the wall in the first place.

But. I have this one linked, and it was on the house when we moved in, the previous owner had died, no one knew the code, we decided we'd like to be able to use it. A YouTube video and 10 minutes and I'd cracked the code.

Ours is on the back door, someone could absolutely break in to it by doing what I did. I think they're probably more secure if they are completely concealed so no one knows you've got one, or right out in the open where anyone fiddling with it would be easily seen from the street. Or even with a ring dorebell covering the key safe.

Dorebell?! 😂 Doorbell!

ive known of 2
Ddads and MIL both out of main view and well bolted to the walls
no problems with either

Not all insurers cover key safes, and not all key safes are insurance approved. So check carefully I think, as someone’s posted above.

Most, if not all, home insurance polices don’t provide theft cover if there hasn’t been a forced entry, and not all insurers will count smashing a key safes open / off the wall as forced entry. I was very anti them, until my husband died. Now I feel happier knowing there’s a key available. But, they’re not fixed anywhere near a door!

www.moneysupermarket.com/home-insurance/does-a-key-safe-invalidate-home-insurance/#:~:text=If%20you%20make%20a%20claim,when%20key%20safes%20are%20involved.

Unfortunately they can be pulled off the wall and broken into. Happened to several residents in my mum’s sheltered accommodation over Christmas. The lock boxes were in the building though not outside - the thieves managed to break down the main door to get in. The complex had security cameras but unfortunately they were not working and the site manager was on vacation 😩

I think thieves would find it easier to break in through our French windows at the back than get the key out of our key safe.

They are very secure when installed correctly, most Furnished Holiday Lets have them as do many elderly people for carers to access. If you are concerned could you put the key box in a place that can’t be seen from the road?

This. Plus then they have to brave the ring doorbell and the 3 dogs - good luck to them!