Do you lock your door when you’re in the house?

[patienceandprudence]

Inspired by another thread (no prizes for guessing which).

I was surprised that people lock their doors sheen inside the house. Granted, we live in a small house, but it’s in a ‘bad’ area. We never lock our door when someone’s in, except at night if someone remembers. I’d say we leave it unlocked while out a good 30% of the time so if the kids come back or someone drops by to visit they don’t have to wait outside.

In my area this is the norm, and most of the time if you knock you’ll just be called in and told to walk right in next time. We tell anyone the same, even the regular delivery-people know that they can open the door and put the parcel in if it’s open.

I would say i lock my door when i am out and at night but the truth is i look my door when i think about it. So virtually always when i leave the house but maybe 50% of the time at night.

II never intentionally lock the door during the day - as i say - its not something i really think about. My neighbour is so paranoid about crime she has multiple cameras and security devises and will phone someone to check her door during the day - i cannot imagine living with that anxiety constantly. i feel i would rather lived a relaxed life and simply not worry about things.

@mathanxiety. I have smoke alarms in my house. It is incredibly unlikely that my house will go up in flames but the consequences of it happening are so horrific that I - and everyone else I know - takes that simple precaution which might limit damage and might save lives should it ever happen.
I see that as similar to doing the perfectly normal thing of having the entrance to my home only openable by someone who is inside the house or someone with a key. Except it is MUCH more likely that someone will try an opportunist burglary than it is my house goes up in flames.
Don't you have smoke alarms ? I mean, not many houses catch fire these days.

No I never lock the door when I'm there (except at night when i go to bed)

I always lock it, it's a nice area, but not so far away there have been quite a few incidents of door handles being tried and someone narrowly avoiding being attacked when they caught an opportunistic burglar wandering through the hallway. I feel safer knowing if the handle is tried, it won't just open for anyone to walk in.

@Aurea

Your house will not be insured if it's left unlocked even if you're in.

I remember reading this a few years ago so I read through my policy, and I checked with the agent and a claims adjuster.

They all said the house was insured even if unlocked.

I would say i lock my door when i am out and at night but the truth is i look my door when i think about it. So virtually always when i leave the house but maybe 50% of the time at night.

This is pretty my how it is with our house, although I would say that the doors are locked 95% of the time at night.

We once went away on holiday for three weeks and forgot to lock the doors. The window locks were done up tight though.

Yes always keep it locked. Just habit, my family hace always done the same. There's a key close enough (not within accessing distance from someone outside) that it's no inconvenience to do so. Once came in handy when a bt engineer said job was finished and tried to make a hasty exit, but as he had to wait for me to unlock the door had time to check he hadnt fixed the issue. If he'd been able to escape we'd have had to wait another three weeks for someone else!

Is your insurance even valid if someone robs your house via your open door if you're upstairs/in the garden etc?

I live in a town in The Isle Man we don’t ever lock our house or car. I don’t even know where our keys are. Having moved from Southern Spain where we had security, locks, alarms and dogs this island is a haven.

Always- my teenage kids drive me insane coming home and not locking it!

Seldom lock it when I go out let alone when I’m in it!!! The house I grew up in didn’t have a lock on.

It helps me sleep better if the door is locked. The thought of a break in during the night is terrifying and locking the door takes a few seconds. Not sure why you wouldn’t to be honest!

I always lock the front door, I’m pretty security conscious. I just don’t see why it’s worth the risk to leave it unlocked!

I didn’t used to but twice now we have had police wanting to look in the gardens in our street for criminals who have run.

My house is always locked when l'm in.
I spent 28 years in the police, and the amount of times l handled a report where someone had sneaked into a house while it was unlocked was sobering.
I live alone and l wouldn't feel safe with the house insecure.

@FSPea

Ridiculous and naive to leave your house unlocked 30% of the time, in my opinion. Do you know how many burglaries happen in the day time? Asking for trouble.

My brother, who lives on a quiet cul de sac, once left his front door unlocked for a few minutes as he had to rush his small daughter to the loo as soon as they got home.

In that few minutes, someone opened the door and took his keys, driving off in his quite expensive car.

I have other stories of other people who had strangers walk into their houses - one involves a couple in their 60s being tied up, beaten up and robbed.

LOCK YOUR DOOR AT ALL TIMES

Just popping back to add that this thread makes me feel anxious and it's not my house!

I do to stop the young DC escaping. If they're not here, I'd lock it if I were in the bath, bed, garden.

Is your insurance even valid if someone robs your house via your open door if you're upstairs/in the garden etc?

Check your policy wording but you are almost certainly covered in these scenarios.

I lock my door always. I had an armed burglar in my house, though, despite me being awake and clearly in the house. You dont forget to lock in after something like that.

I always lock my door because I have a severe paranoia of becoming a victim of a home invasion due to a recurring dream I have been having since I was a child. Also, years ago shortly after returning home one night, someone tried to open my door (I lived in a dangerous area). Scared the crap out of me.

I always lock my door. I remember years ago as a child whilst visiting grandparents, a walk in burglar walked in and stole my mother’s handbag that was 50+ years ago in a good area.

I started locking my door about 5 years ago.
There was a story about a woman who was home alone. She found a man standing in her kitchen. She asked him what he was doing there, so he shot her in the head.
No argument, no struggle, no logic. It was so shocking it made me rethink my security. I'm a single mum, I wfh, my ds needs me, so I upgraded the doors and windows, and keep the doors locked.

I lock my front door the moment I come in. Due to bitter experience... It's a upvc door that if not locked can be opened from the outside, and some years ago we were burgled due to an opportunist trying the handle, entering the house, taking our car keys and stealing the car. We were actually upstairs at the time. I still have semi-panic attacks if I think I've forgotten to lock the door!

My youngest would be running down the road in his pants if it wasn’t locked 😂

And yes we were covered by our insurance, as we were in the house. Had we gone out and left it unlocked, that would have been a different story! But if house is occupied and unlocked, they should cover.