Any response service, whether provided by a paid emergency response service or family or friends, may require them to enter the house if you are not conscious or able to get to the door. They will therefore require a key to enter your home. A key safe provides a useful way of giving access to the home to regular callers, such as carers and relatives, and also provides a ‘spare’ should the homeowner leave the house without the key.
A key safe is a secure metal box that stores a key, and is designed to be mounted outside by the front door. The safe is opened by a numeric code entered by push buttons or rotating dials. A single copy of your key/s are placed inside but can only be retrieved by someone who knows the correct code to open the box. It is up to you who you give the code to and you can change the code as often as you like. Choosing a code made up of familiar numbers, such as a birth date, can help someone with memory difficulties to remember it.
If your keysafe is provided by your local council, they will often arrange for it to be fitted. However they may not provide you with the code, restricting this to their own workers to maximise the chance that a key has been returned to the box if required in an emergency. If you buy your own and you do not know someone who could fit it for you, you may find that your local AgeUK have a handyman service which can help for a small fee.
Alternatively, you can get your local locksmith to provide and fit one for you.
Keysafe units are usually wall-mounted into brick or concrete and should be installed out of easy line of sight. Tests have shown that some key safes are more secure than others, which may determine whether they are approved by home insurance providers .
Suggested Buy :
Supra C500 Key Safe Secure/Wall Mounted/Outdoor/Key Storage Device
by Key Safe
Price: | £63.50 |
- The ONLY Mechanical Police approved key safe certified ‘As secure as your front door’
- Stores up to 6 keys.
- Mechanical push button system with over 4,000 possible combinations.
- Two year guarantee.
- Approved by multiple large home insurance companies
There are other numerous options on Amazon, or other stores such as Screwfix