[Image source: Best Roller Garage Doors]
This content is a sponsored publication provided by Best Roller Garage Doors, leading suppliers and installers of high-quality garage doors in Surrey, Sussex and Kent.
Garages and outbuildings are common initial entry points for residential break-ins, because they tend to be positioned away from the street, obscured by fences or hedging, and are rarely fitted with the same standard of security hardware as the main property.
It’s not just the risk of stolen goods that landlords need to worry about. Depending on the wording of your buildings and landlord insurance policy, a break-in that originates through an inadequately secured outbuilding could affect your ability to claim or result in a higher excess. And if an intruder uses the garage as a route into the main dwelling, you could find yourself facing difficult questions about your duty of care as a property owner.
Here, the industry specialists at Best Roller Garage Doors highlight this liability gap, explaining why traditional garage doors are a security weakness and how modern roller garage doors offer a robust solution for the rental market.
Why traditional doors fail the rental test
Old garage doors were never designed with modern security standards in mind, and their weaknesses are well understood by anyone with bad intentions. The most common attack on a standard single-skin metal up-and-over door is known as peeling, where force is applied to the bottom corner of the door using a crowbar to bow the panel inward and disengage the internal locking bar. It takes just minutes to break into a poorly designed door, and leaves virtually no obvious damage visible from the street.
The human element, with tenants often not as security conscious as owners, especially if they’re moving between properties or sharing with others, means manual locking handles get forgotten and keys go missing. In HMOs, you might find that no-one is quite sure who is responsible for locking the garage at all. All of these scenarios are the perfect storm for someone breaking in.
Visual exposure is another problem. Older garage doors may feature windows, which is a lovely design choice but also means high-value items are left in full view of any passer-by. Even doors without windows often have enough of a gap at the base or sides to allow a torch beam to reveal what is stored inside.
The roller door advantage: Engineered for security
Modern roller garage doors address each of these vulnerabilities by their foundational design. The most fundamental difference is structural. A roller door descends into deep guide rails on either side of the door frame, sitting flush against the ground when it’s closed. There are no exposed hinges, no accessible locking bars, and no panels that can be peeled or prised back. The absence of these leverage points is precisely what makes them so much more secure.
Automation adds another vital layer of protection that’s particularly well suited to rental properties. When an electric roller door is in the closed position, the motor itself acts as the locking mechanism. The door simply can’t be lifted manually from the outside, which completely removes the problem of forgetting to lock it. For landlords managing multiple tenancies, it also eliminates the need to chase down lost keys between lets. Access can often be managed via code pads or remote fobs that are straightforward to reset.
Why landlords should care from a business perspective
The security argument alone should be sufficient, but the financial case for upgrading is just as compelling. UK insurers are incredibly attentive to physical security standards when it comes to landlord and building policies. Doors that carry the “Secured by Design” (SBD) accreditation, the police-approved standard for crime prevention hardware, can support your applications for reduced premiums or lower excesses. If you manage a larger portfolio, the collective saving across multiple properties can be substantial.
Security consistently ranks among the top priorities for renters, and it’s easy to see why. No-one wants to feel unsafe in their home and knowing you and your belongings are secure is worth paying a premium for. In competitive local markets, it is the kind of detail that helps you retain good tenants for the long-term rather than losing them to a newer development down the road, simply because your property is more of a risk.
Finally, there’s the all-important maintenance overhead. The spring mechanisms in traditional up-and-over doors are prone to snapping, often without warning, leaving the door inoperable and requiring an emergency call-out. A quality roller system eliminates this particular failure, and requires much lower maintenance overall, minimising the need for emergency repairs. Best Roller Garage Doors provides on-hand expertise for any operational concerns, ensuring that a well-maintained garage door can be in place for upwards of 20 years with the right care.
Closing the gap
A rental strategy is only as strong as its weakest point, and for many properties in the UK, that weak point is the garage. Landlords who invest carefully in front-door security, alarm systems and CCTV are sometimes unknowingly leaving an invitation for burglars that’s easy to exploit. Upgrading to a reinforced, automated roller door is one of the simplest yet most effective changes you can make because it addresses numerous issues at once. Protect your investment and your tenants.
