Help to protect your belongings and property
You may need to help secure your property and belongings if:
- you need to go into a hospital or a care home (including a care home with nursing), or
- you are made the subject of a Place of Safety Order
We can help to protect your property and belongings if:
- it is clear that your property and belongings are at risk or in danger, and
- no other person can act on your behalf
To do this, we take similar steps you would take when you go away on holiday. For example:
- buildings can be secured, which means taking reasonable steps such as locking doors and shutting windows
If valuables such as cash, jewellery, or antiques have been left in a property or pets have been left alone, then further action may be necessary.
We will ask for your permission before entering the property.
In some circumstances, a person may be unable to give permission because they are not able to make this decision themselves due to their health. If this happens, we may still need to enter the property to provide support and keep the person safe.
Download our leaflet to read more about the protection of property
Costs
We may recover the costs of securing, protecting and, where needed, maintaining a property.
This service is not free. You may be charged for:
- emergency repairs
- changing locks
- security work
- property maintenance
- storing belongings
We may also carry out maintenance to front gardens if we think it is necessary.
Details of these and other charges are set out in our Financial Plan 2023 to 2027 which we review and publish each year.
We can provide current charges on request, along with advice and, where appropriate, an estimate of likely costs to help you make an informed decision.
You will remain responsible for these charges for as long as we need to provide these services.
Page last updated: 27 July 2026