Window locks · explained · Manchester
The clause you never read is about your windows.
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Almost every UK home policy has a sentence about windows in it, and almost nobody has read it. It usually says key-operated locks on all accessible windows. Two words in there decide whether you comply: accessible, and key-operated.
What "accessible" means
Not just the ground floor. Anything somebody could reach without a ladder they brought with them:
- Every ground floor window
- Anything above a flat roof or an extension
- Anything above a bin store, a shed, a wall
- Anything beside a drainpipe or a porch
- Basement and cellar lights
The first floor bedroom over the kitchen extension is an accessible window. Most people would not guess that, and most insurers would.
And "key-operated" means a key
A handle that clicks shut is not a lock. A catch is not a lock. If it does not take a key, it does not satisfy the clause, however solid it feels.
Which window have you got
| Window | The lock | Price |
|---|---|---|
| uPVC casement | Key-locking espagnolette handle | £25-45 |
| uPVC, handle turns but nothing locks | Espagnolette gearing worn | £35-65 |
| uPVC tilt and turn | Handle plus mushroom cams adjusted | £35-70 |
| Timber casement | Surface-mounted key lock or bolt | £25-50 |
| Timber sash | Key-operated sash bolts and stops | £25-55 |
| Metal / Crittall | Specific handles and stays | £35-70 |
The mushroom cam thing
Modern uPVC windows do not just have a catch. The espagnolette drives mushroom-shaped cams along the frame that pull into keeps and hold the sash tight. When they wear or go out of adjustment, the window feels locked and is doing very little.
The tell: the handle turns easily and the window still rattles, or you get a draught round the edge with it shut. That is not a seal problem. That is the cams not engaging, and it is £35-65 to adjust rather than a new window.
Sash windows: you do not need new windows
An original sash usually has a fitch catch, which a flat screwdriver defeats in about four seconds through the gap between the sashes. It is also often a hundred years old, beautiful, and worth keeping.
Sash stops and key-operated sash bolts fit into the original timber, cost £25-55 per window, and some lock the window in a partly open position so you keep the ventilation. Anyone telling you compliance means uPVC is selling windows. See Stockport, where half the borough has this problem.
The honest caveat
A window lock does not stop a brick. What it does is stop the quiet options: reaching through a fanlight, opening a window somebody left on the latch, working a catch with a screwdriver. It removes the silent ways in and leaves only the loud ones, and burglars strongly prefer quiet.
Security upgrade · Insurance work
Questions people actually ask
Which of my windows does my insurance actually mean by accessible?
Every ground floor window, plus anything somebody could reach without bringing a ladder: above a flat roof or an extension, above a bin store or a wall, beside a drainpipe or a porch, and basement or cellar lights. The one people miss is the first floor bedroom over the kitchen extension, which is an accessible window as far as an insurer is concerned even though almost nobody would guess it. If in doubt, stand in the garden and ask yourself how you would get in.
Is a handle that clicks shut a window lock?
No. A catch is not a lock and a handle that clicks is not a lock. If it does not take a key it does not satisfy a key-operated window lock clause, however solid it feels when you close it. That is the whole point of the wording: an insurer wants something a person cannot simply operate from outside once they have got a hand to it. A key-locking espagnolette handle on a uPVC casement is £25 to £45 fitted.
My uPVC window locks but still rattles. What's wrong?
The mushroom cams are not engaging. A modern uPVC window does not just have a catch: the handle drives mushroom-shaped cams along the frame that pull into keeps and clamp the sash tight. When they wear or drift out of adjustment, the handle still turns, the window feels locked, and it is doing very little. The tell is a rattle or a draught around the edge with the window shut. Adjusting it is £35 to £65, and it is not a seal problem and not a new window.
Do I have to replace my sash windows to get insurance-compliant locks?
No, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling windows. Sash stops and key-operated sash bolts fit into the original timber, cost £25 to £55 per window, and are discreet and reversible. Some of them let you lock the sash in a partly open position so you keep ventilation on a warm night. An original fitch catch opens with a flat screwdriver through the gap between the sashes in about four seconds, so the upgrade is worth doing, but the windows themselves are usually worth keeping.
Will window locks actually stop a burglar?
They will not stop a brick, and we would rather say so. What they stop is the quiet options: reaching through a fanlight, pushing open a window somebody left on the latch, working a catch with a screwdriver from outside. Those are the ways in that make no noise and leave no obvious damage, and they are strongly preferred for exactly that reason. A window lock removes the silent routes and leaves only the loud ones.