Empty buildings, priced properly
What does vacant property security cost?
Nobody can quote an empty building off a web page. The price is set by how many openings have to be closed, how big the site is, how long you need cover, and whether anyone has to attend. This page sets out every cost driver honestly, with no made-up prices, then puts your job in front of providers who work your area so they quote the real number.
The process
- Tell us about the building: type, size, how many openings, how long it is empty. Two minutes, no account.
- We pass your details to vacant property security providers covering your postcode, and to no one else.
- They contact you with a price for your site. Compare, choose, or walk away.
Vacant Property Security Cost is an independent site and free introduction service operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd; we pass your details to vacant property security providers who quote you directly. We may receive a fee from providers; you pay nothing and are under no obligation. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Security Industry Authority or any body named on this site, we are not insurance advisers and we recommend no insurance product. Nothing here is insurance or legal advice, and we publish cost drivers rather than invented prices because empty buildings are priced per opening, per unit, per hour and per visit.
What moves the price of vacant property security, 2026
Last updated
Every empty building is priced from the same handful of variables. This table sets out each one, why it moves the number, and the exact thing to ask a provider for so that two quotes can be compared like for like.
We do not publish invented prices for empty buildings. Screens are priced per opening, towers per unit per week, guarding per guard-hour and inspections per visit, so a single headline rate would be misleading. The drivers below are the variables every provider prices against, compiled from the questions providers ask when they quote. Wage and legal figures cited on this page come from gov.uk and are dated inline. Get exact prices for your site through the form above.
| Cost driver | Why it moves the price | What to ask the provider for |
|---|---|---|
| Number of openings | Steel screens and steel door sets are quoted per opening, fitted. Ground-floor windows, doors, roller shutters and any accessible first-floor opening all count | A price per screen and per door set, plus the fit and the removal, itemised separately |
| Hire or purchase, and for how long | Screens, towers and barriers are usually hired weekly or monthly. Short jobs favour hire; a building empty for a year or more can be cheaper to screen on a purchase basis | The weekly hire rate, the minimum hire period, and the breakeven point against buying outright |
| Site size and access | Perimeter length sets how many concrete blocks or barriers are needed; a tight urban site may need a crane, traffic management or out-of-hours delivery | Delivery, installation and collection costs shown as separate lines, not folded into a day rate |
| Attendance and response | An alarm or CCTV tower is only as good as what happens when it activates. Remote monitoring, keyholder callout and police response are each priced separately | Who responds, how fast, how many callouts are included, and what an extra callout costs |
| Guarding hours | Manned guarding is the most expensive option because it is bought by the hour: continuous cover is 168 guard-hours a week, and the National Living Wage sets the floor under the rate before employer costs, licensing, supervision and margin | The hourly rate, the shift pattern, and confirmation that every officer holds a valid SIA licence |
| Location | Travel time drives inspection and callout pricing, and a provider without local cover will price the mileage in. Urban theft and arson risk also affect what a provider is willing to leave on site | Whether the responding team is local, and the round-trip cost built into each inspection visit |
| Power and connectivity | Solar and battery towers cost more up front than mains-fed kit but avoid a temporary supply. Poor mobile signal on rural or steel-clad sites can force a different camera specification | Whether the tower is self-powered, and what happens to the quote if signal testing fails |
- Continuous manned guarding of an empty building is 168 guard-hours a week, which is why it is almost always the most expensive vacant property security option on any site.
- The National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over is £12.71 an hour from April 2026 (gov.uk), and that is the floor under any compliant guarding rate before employer costs, SIA licensing, supervision and margin.
- Squatting in a residential building is a criminal offence carrying up to 6 months in prison, a £5,000 fine or both, but squatting in a non-residential building is not in itself a crime (gov.uk), which is why empty commercial buildings depend on physical security rather than a police response.
Cite this page
“What moves the price of vacant property security, 2026”, Vacant Property Security Cost, https://vacantpropertysecuritycost.co.uk/ (updated 2026-08-14). We do not publish invented prices for empty buildings. Screens are priced per opening, towers per unit per week, guarding per guard-hour and inspections per visit, so a single headline rate would be misleading. The drivers below are the variables every provider prices against, compiled from the questions providers ask when they quote. Wage and legal figures cited on this page come from gov.uk and are dated inline. Get exact prices for your site through the form above.
The detail
Each one cites where its numbers come from.
- Vacant property security cost: the seven things a quote is built from
Why empty-building security quotes differ so much: openings, hire against purchase, site size, response, guard hours, location and power. What to ask each provider for.
- Steel screens, camera towers or guards: which suits an empty building
Physical security, monitored towers and manned guarding solve different problems on an empty building. How to choose, and how each one changes what you pay.
- Leaving a building empty: the checklist before the void starts
What to do the week a building empties: drain down, isolate, secure openings, agree inspections and check your own policy wording for unoccupancy conditions.
- Manned guarding on an empty site: what you are really buying
Manned guarding is bought by the hour, and continuous cover is 168 hours a week. How shift patterns, SIA licensing and the wage floor shape a guarding quote.
The questions we get
How much does vacant property security cost in the UK?
It depends on what the building needs, and the components are priced on different units: steel screens and door sets per opening, concrete barriers per block or per metre, alarm and CCTV towers per unit per week, manned guarding per guard-hour and inspections per visit. The two biggest levers are the number of accessible openings and how long the building stands empty. We publish the full list of cost drivers rather than invented prices, and pass your site to providers who quote the real number.
What is vacant property security?
The set of measures used to protect an empty building: steel screens and steel door sets over openings, concrete barriers or blocks against vehicle access, alarm and CCTV towers with remote monitoring, manned guarding, and key holding with recorded inspection visits. Most buildings use a combination, weighted to how long the void will last.
Do I need security on an empty building?
Empty buildings attract metal theft, unauthorised occupation, arson and undetected water damage, and all four risks rise once a building is visibly unoccupied. Separately, property insurers commonly attach unoccupancy conditions covering matters such as inspection frequency, drain-down and alarms, and cover can be restricted after a set empty period. Check your own policy wording, then secure the building to at least that standard.
Is it illegal to squat in an empty commercial building?
Squatting in a residential building is a criminal offence and gov.uk states it can lead to 6 months in prison, a £5,000 fine or both. Squatting in a non-residential building is not in itself a crime, although damaging the property is. That difference is why owners of empty commercial buildings rely on physical security and civil recovery rather than a police response.
How quickly can an empty building be secured?
Screening and barrier work is usually measured in days rather than weeks once a survey is done, and guarding or a tower can often start sooner as a stop-gap. Lead time is worth asking about explicitly when a building has just emptied, because the highest-risk period is the first fortnight.
Is this quote service really free?
Yes, free to you, with no obligation to accept any quote. We pass your details only to vacant property security providers covering your postcode, who quote you directly. We may receive a fee from those providers, which is how the service is funded.