Key safes for carers: which kind, where to fit one, and who has the code

A key safe is a small locked box fixed to an outside wall that holds a door key and opens with a code you choose. The NHS describes it as a way for family, carers and the emergency services to get in if your relative cannot get to the door. Its guide to alarms and key safes adds that the more expensive models work in the same way as the cheaper ones, but are stronger and heavier.

There are two marks to look for, and they usually appear together. Secured by Design is the official police security initiative, owned by UK policing. A product that meets its Police Preferred Specification has been tested to a recognised security standard and certified by an independent body accredited by UKAS, which re-tests samples during the year and inspects the factory. For key safes, that standard is usually LPS 1175, published by the Loss Prevention Certification Board. Its rating, such as A1 or A5, gives the set of tools used in the attack test and the minutes the product held out.

Before buying, you can look a model up on the Secured by Design product search. The independent Living Made Easy site gives impartial advice on aids for independent living. We do not recommend any one make.

A police-preferred model costs more than an uncertified box. Ask for a written price that names the model and its rating and includes fitting. Key safes are not on the gov.uk list of mobility aids that get the reduced 5% rate for people over 60. The 0% rate for disabled people covers products designed or adapted for a disabled person's own use, so ask the seller whether a particular key safe qualifies before signing any declaration. VAT relief, council tax help and grants explains both reliefs in full.

The council is the first place to ask. A care needs assessment from adult social care looks at what your relative needs to stay safely at home, and under the Care Act charging regulations councils in England cannot charge for aids and minor adaptations costing £1,000 or less that they provide to meet those needs. What happens to key safes varies a great deal by area. Some councils, such as Lambeth and North Northamptonshire, fit them through their alarm or equipment services, each on its own terms. Other councils do not provide them at all and point to a charity or a handyperson service instead, so ask yours what it does.

In some areas a local Age UK handyperson service fits key safes for older or disabled people. A locksmith or a trusted tradesperson can also do it. The right equipment to aid the elderly covers the other aids an occupational therapist might suggest on the same visit.

Choose a code that nobody could guess from what they know about your relative: not a birth year, a house number or the same digit repeated. If the key safe allows it, Essex Police advice published by Thurrock Council is to use five or six digits rather than four, and to change the code regularly. Never write the code on the box, on the door frame or on a note by the phone.

Write the arrangement into the care plan you agree with the carer, without the code itself: where the key safe is, which door the key opens, and what the carer does with the key at the end of each visit. A key left in the lock on the inside can stop the next person's key turning from outside, and a key that goes home in somebody's pocket leaves the next carer on the doorstep.

If something goes missing, or you are worried about somebody who had the code, change it the same day before you decide anything else. If you think a carer is stealing or mistreating your relative sets out what to do next and who to tell.

1. 1

   Fit it and try it yourself

   A week before

   Open the box with the code, take the key out, open the door from outside, put the key back and lock the box. Do it in the dark once, too.
2. 2

   Write the access note

   The same day

   Where the key safe is, which door the key opens, any knack with the lock, and what to do with the key when leaving. Keep the code itself out of it.
3. 3

   Give the carer the code directly

   Before visit one

   By phone or in person, and separately from the address. Tell your relative who has been given it.
4. 4

   Agree what happens if they cannot get in

   Before visit one

   How long the carer waits, who they ring first and second, and the point at which they call 999 because nobody is answering.

The first week with a new carer compares the other ways a carer can get in, from a key of their own to a neighbour with a spare, and preparing for your carer's first day has the rest of the checklist. The key safe is one part of keeping their home secure, alongside good locks and a safe routine at the door. If your relative wears a pendant alarm, pendant alarms and sensors explains how a responder reaches your relative, and whether they will need the code.

PrimeCarers is an introductory service. You search for carers near your relative, compare their profiles, rates and reviews, and talk to the ones you like before agreeing anything. Carers on PrimeCarers are self-employed, and they charge £18 to £25 an hour with our fee included, where a care agency typically charges £28 to £35. Before a carer's profile appears, we check their ID and right to work, check that they hold an enhanced DBS certificate issued within the last 2 years (or a PVG in Scotland or Access NI in Northern Ireland), and interview them online. We do not check qualifications, training or references, and the references and reviews on a profile are not verified, so ask the carer about anything that matters to you. Visits booked through PrimeCarers are covered by the carer insurance policy we arrange, within its terms. Background checks for private carers explains what each check covers.