Leaving your home unoccupied for a vacation — whether for a long weekend or several weeks — creates a window of opportunity that opportunistic burglars are well positioned to exploit. An empty home in Toronto is not inherently more vulnerable than an occupied one, but the absence of the normal signs of activity that deter casual break-ins means that a few deliberate precautions make a meaningful difference. Most of them cost nothing and take minutes to put in place.

Secure Every Entry Point Before You Leave

The most important step before any trip is a systematic check of every entry point. Walk through the entire property and confirm that every exterior door is locked and that every deadbolt is thrown — not just the front door. Back doors, side doors, and the door connecting an attached garage to the living space are frequently left unlocked because they are used less often and the habit of locking them is less ingrained.

Check all ground-floor windows and any upper-floor windows accessible from a roof, deck, or tree. A window left open even a few centimetres can be forced open further with minimal effort. Sliding patio doors should have a secondary bar or pin in the track in addition to the latch hardware — the latch alone on most patio doors provides limited resistance to forced entry.

If you have a garage, confirm that the garage door is fully closed and that the interior door from the garage to the house is both locked and deadbolted. A garage that can be opened — whether through a code, a remote, or a manual release — provides a sheltered, out-of-sight staging area for entry into the house.

Make the Home Look Occupied

An unoccupied home has visible tells that an experienced burglar recognizes quickly: accumulated mail and flyers, a driveway that never has a car in it, lights that are never on in the evening, and curtains that never move. Eliminating these signals is one of the most effective deterrents available.

Put interior lights on timers so that different rooms are lit at different times of the evening, mimicking the pattern of an occupied home. Ask a trusted neighbour or friend to collect mail and flyers daily, park in the driveway occasionally, and vary the appearance of the property. If you subscribe to a newspaper, suspend delivery for the duration of your trip.

Avoid announcing your vacation on social media before or during the trip. Posts about upcoming travel or photos tagged at a distant location are a direct signal that your home is unoccupied, and social media audiences are not always limited to people you know well.

Review Your Lock Hardware Before You Go

A vacation is a good prompt to assess the quality of your existing lock hardware. A deadbolt that sticks, a latch that does not engage cleanly, or a strike plate that feels loose are all signs of hardware that may not perform as intended under stress. If you have been meaning to address a lock issue and have been putting it off, before a vacation is the right time to deal with it.

The strike plate is the most commonly overlooked component of a door lock installation. Most builder-grade strike plates are secured with short screws that only reach the door casing, not the structural framing behind it. A strike plate secured with 7.5 cm (3-inch) screws that reach the stud provides dramatically more resistance to a kick-in than the standard installation. This is a five-minute fix that a locksmith can perform during any service visit.

Consider a Temporary Security Upgrade

If your home has a door that you have always considered a weak point — a hollow-core back door, a sliding patio door with minimal hardware, or a side entrance that is out of sight from the street — a vacation is a reasonable occasion to address it. A lock upgrade or door reinforcement completed before you leave means you return to a more secure home, not just a temporarily secured one.

Leave a Key with Someone You Trust

Leaving a key with a trusted neighbour or family member serves two purposes: it allows someone to check on the property if something looks wrong, and it avoids the need to leave a spare key hidden outside the home. Hidden spare keys — under doormats, in fake rocks, above door frames — are well-known to burglars and provide a false sense of security. A key with a trusted person is always the better option.

Locksmith Care — Lock Repairs and Security Upgrades Before You Travel

Locksmith Care provides licensed and insured lock repair, deadbolt installation, and security upgrades for homeowners across Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area. If you want to address a lock issue or upgrade your hardware before your next trip, our mobile technicians can handle most jobs in a single visit. Available 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call us at 416-828-2596 for a free quote or to book a same-day appointment.