Securing your doors and windows: the simple fixes first
Lock every door and window, every time, and keep keys out of the locks and away from the letterbox. Then add the small things the Gardaí list: a letterbox restrictor, a door chain or limiter, and locks on the windows a burglar can reach.
Last checked against the sources listed at the end of this page.
We sell nothing and fit nothing, and no company paid to be on this page. A few example products link to Amazon and earn us a commission: the note above them says so.
The CCPC lists “security locks are fitted” (opens in a new tab) among the things that can earn a discount on home insurance. Ask your insurer what it counts as a security lock, and what it needs, before you buy one or call a locksmith.
Ask the company that fitted your doors and windows
Ask the company to name the standard on your quote, in writing.
What the Gardaí look for in a secure front or back door
Most uPVC, aluminium and composite doors have a multi-point lock (opens in a new tab), and when they are certified to the standards above they generally give a high level of protection.
The PSA’s note for locksmiths says that in a new house, the door you would leave by in a fire (usually the front door) must open from inside without a key (opens in a new tab), for example with a thumb-turn, and that a thumb-turn already fitted can only be replaced with one at least as good. Ask the locksmith about this before a lock is changed.
How do I stop keys being fished through the letterbox?
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We pick these from published specifications and what is sold to Ireland. We have not tested them ourselves. Each one was on sale to Ireland on Amazon’s UK store when we checked on 7 October 2026.
Good for: a front door with a letterbox: Yale says it limits access through the letterbox.
Three settings: fully closed, part open, or fully open.
Yale says it reduces the risk of “fishing” and lock manipulation through the letterbox.
Check it fits: Yale says it suits wooden, composite and PVCu doors. If your door is uPVC or composite, ask the company that fitted it before you drill: the Gardaí say adding security devices to these doors can affect the warranty.
Good for: a wooden front door: it holds the door slightly open, so you can see who is there before you open it.
Yale says it helps you identify a caller before the door is fully released.
It also restrains the door against a forced attack, in Yale’s words.
Check it fits: Yale lists it for wooden doors. For a uPVC or composite door, ask the company that fitted the door first: the Gardaí say these doors are generally unsuitable for adding security devices.
An upper window that can be reached with a ladder or other climbing aid, from a drainpipe or from a roof next to it is just as attractive to a burglar.
Windows at the back and side, out of sight of neighbours and passers-by, are more at risk than ones people can see.
Extra locks, limiters (which stop a window opening fully) or stronger glass all help. The Gardaí say home security and DIY shops sell inexpensive, key-operated locks (opens in a new tab) to fit most kinds of windows, and a big window may need more than one. Before adding locks to existing windows, they advise asking a professional, so the frame is not weakened, and the installer, so any warranty is kept.
PVCu Inline Lockable Window Handle, white (P-YWHLCK40N-WH)
Good for: a uPVC window that opens with a handle: it replaces the handle you have with one that locks with a key.
Locks with a key, and has a push button you press before the handle turns.
Fits left- or right-opening windows with a concealed espagnolette or shootbolt lock.
Check it fits: Yale gives a 40 mm by 7 mm spindle (the square bar into the window), which can be cut down, and 43 mm between the screw holes. Measure your old handle before you buy, and if the windows are under warranty, ask the installer first.
A security bar, or a device that holds the handles together on the inside, so the doors cannot be parted even if the lock is forced, is also strongly recommended.
What fits depends on the make of door, so we show no examples here. Ask the company that fitted your patio door what it recommends, and whether adding anything affects the warranty.
Your doors and windows, step by step
1
Tonight: lock every door and window, and check them
Front, back and side doors, even when you are at home. Every window, even a small one left open for air.
2
Take the keys out of the locks
Keep them in one place, away from the letterbox and windows, where everyone in the house can find them quickly in a fire.
3
Count your front-door keys
If you cannot account for every one, think about changing the lock.
4
Walk round outside and look at the windows
Which can be reached from the ground, a wall, a flat roof or a drainpipe? Which are at the back or side, out of sight? Those need locks first.
5
Ask your insurer what locks it wants
Before you buy anything or call anyone.
6
If a locksmith fits anything, check their PSA licence
On the PSA’s register of contractors, under the Locksmith category.
7
Replacing a door or window? Ask for the standard in writing
PAS 24:2016 or I.S. EN 1627:2011, named on the quote.
Walk round your doors and windows
Walk round the house in daylight with a pen. Tick each line, and note what to fix.
Doors
1
Front, back and side doors locked, even when I am at home
2
No key left in any lock, under the mat or anywhere outside
3
Keys kept in one place, away from the letterbox and windows
Everyone in the house knows where, in case of fire.
4
Nothing can be reached through the letterbox
A letter tray or restrictor stops key fishing.
5
Front door has a viewer, and a chain or limiter I use
And the back door is locked before I open the front.
6
I know where every front-door key is
If not, think about changing the lock.
Windows
7
Every window shut and locked when I go out or go to bed
8
Locks on the ground floor, and on any window reached from a wall, roof or drainpipe
9
Window keys near the windows, where everyone can find them but not from outside
10
Hedges cut back so the side and back windows can be seen
Before I buy or hire
11
Insurer asked what locks it wants
12
Locksmith’s PSA licence checked on psa-gov.ie
13
New door or window: PAS 24:2016 or I.S. EN 1627:2011, in writing
Notes
From safeandsecure.ie/topics/home/doors-and-windows. Last checked 7 October 2026. Sources: An Garda Síochána (garda.ie): Operation Thor, Lock Up Light Up, Securing your home, HS2, HS3, Bogus Callers; PSA (psa-gov.ie); CCPC (ccpc.ie).
Print this
The checklist prints on one page, in black on white, with a box to tick beside each line. The whole guide prints without the menus, and with the address of every source.
One thing to do this week
This week, check that every ground-floor window has a working lock, and that you know where its key is.
An Garda Síochána, press release. An unsecured door as the way in for 23.9% of residential burglaries over the last three winter phases; more entry through open doors and windows in the last summer phase; 78.8% between 4pm and 8am; the advice to lock all doors and windows whether you are at home or going out.
An Garda Síochána. Why burglars prefer a door; what decides whether a door holds; PAS 24 2016 and IS EN 1627:2011 for new doors and windows; extra locks and limiters; keys hidden outside and unlocked side doors.
An Garda Síochána, National Community Policing and Crime Prevention Units. Door types; uPVC, aluminium and composite doors and adding security devices; keys; the viewer, chain or limiter, hinge bolts and letter tray or restrictor for the front door; the lock standards; patio doors; PSA-licensed locksmiths; 999 or 112.
An Garda Síochána, National Community Policing and Crime Prevention Units. Which windows are most at risk; extra locks, limiters and glazing; the standards for new windows; external beading; adding locks to existing windows; laminated glass; fire safety and window keys.
Private Security Authority (PSA). Locksmiths licensed since 1 February 2017; what a licence holder must do; employing an unlicensed contractor is against the law, for householders too; accounting for your keys.
Private Security Authority (PSA). Getting out without a key through the final exit door, thumb-turn locks, and window restrictors, under the building regulations.
Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC). Since 1 July 2026, a €3 customs charge for each type of product in an order sent to Ireland from outside the EU, Britain included.
