Unoccupied premises are an inevitable feature of the property market. Evidence shows that the prospect of damage or injury arising from empty buildings is high, even if only temporarily vacant, e.g. prior to sale or refurbishment.

Each year there are around 9000 fires in empty buildings. Other common problems include theft of contents or fixtures, vandalism, fly tipping and occupation by squatters or travellers. Empty buildings are also at risk of water damage due to inadequate maintenance/repairs, especially when coupled with infrequent site visits.

Owners have a legal ‘duty of care’ to third parties. Such as authorised people entering the premises, whether they are employees, estate agents, surveyors, buyers, etc or even trespassers – including urban explorers, these are thrill seekers who enter premises and then use web sites to publish their exploits which in turn attracts even more visits. These visits can be as mundane as simply taking photographs or as extreme as scaling structures and even base jumping.

Owners of empty or moth balled premises; particularly large industrial sites need to ensure that they have assessed all the potential risks and particular addressed security needs. Areas to be considered:

• Perimeter fences/gates
• Doors, windows and any other accessible openings, e.g. roof lights and hatches 
• An intruder alarm

The general principles for securing empty premises follow those for any building; that is reduce the level of attraction, deter entry, and deny entry, if it occurs, detect entry – ideally ensuring a suitable response is made. Some points to consider are:

Perimeter Fencing and Lighting

Adequate fencing and gates not only mark the boundary but also ensure access is restricted. Good perimeter fencing is especially important if the buildings within the site cannot be effectively secured.

An external deterrent system incorporating activated lighting and verbal warnings should be considered a useful adjunct to any perimeter protection, as it creates a feeling of vulnerability for any criminal or other trespasser. This can also be highly effective when combined with a CCTV system.

Windows
Windows are the most common entry point into buildings for criminals and are also the item most vulnerable to vandalism. If not repaired, broken windows can encourage further vandalism and also result in water entering to create further damage.

‘Boarding up’ is a recognised means of protecting vulnerable windows and can take the form of timber boards or removable steel mesh screens.

To ensure adequate security and minimal damage use of competent contractors to carry out this work is advised. Many such firms also offer a useful ‘out of hours’ emergency service for repairs.

Doors
External doors come in many types and sizes, but whatever their type should be in good condition, well secured to their frames (and the frame to the building) and be fitted with good quality locks or padlocks.

Unless an adequate form of site monitoring and response is available, any internal doors should be left unlocked to minimise damage resulting from forcing open to gain further access, in the event of a break in.

Intruder Alarm
If it already exists, any intruder alarm should be kept operational.  The effectiveness of any type of alarm depends on its capacity to ensure a response is made to any activation. Sometimes an audible alarm might be able to provide this in other cases it is preferable for an alarm to be provided with signalling to a remote monitoring centre, who can then take agreed action.

Closed Circuit Television (CCTV)

A CCTV system can be very useful in deterring casual trespass and also through the use of remote monitoring it can quickly ensure action is taken to prevent an incident.

The requirements to provide a ‘duty of care’ to all third-parties, is something that owners of vacant business premises need to consider carefully.  A modest investment in on-site security, could end up saving a lot of money in the event of an incident.