Key holding services across the UK
Your alarm goes off at 3am. Our officer goes, so you don’t have to.
SIA-licensed officers attend your alarm day or night, sent from our 24-hour London control centre. We agree a response time for each of your sites before cover starts.
Hand your alarm calls to a dedicate response security team
Free site assessment, with no obligation.
Operating since 1998 4.9 on Google Call 020 3794 8182
Key Holding Explained
What is a key holding service?
A key holding service means a security company holds a set of your keys, so a trained officer can come to your site when the alarm goes off. Double Check Security Group provides keyholding services across the UK from a 24-hour control centre in London. Our SIA-licensed officers check the site, deal with the cause and report back to you.
You stop being the person the alarm company rings at night, and so do your managers. The keys sit with us, an officer goes to site, and you get a written report of what happened.
Most of our keyholding customers are businesses with sites that stand empty at night or at weekends. We hold keys for homes too, with the same response steps.
How It Works
What happens when your alarm goes off at 3am
Every alarm call follows the same five steps, so you know what will happen and what you will get.
Our London control centre is staffed 24 hours a day. Call 020 3794 8182.
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The alert reaches us
Your alarm receiving centre passes the call to our 24-hour control centre. If we also provide your CCTV monitoring with live operators, the operator checks your cameras first.
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An officer sets off with your keys
We send an SIA-licensed officer to your site with your keys and your site instructions.
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The officer checks inside and out
They look for forced entry, damage and anyone still on the premises.
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The cause is dealt with
A false alarm is found and reset. After a break-in, the officer calls the police and stays until the building is secure. The National Security Inspectorate (opens in a new tab) expects responders to stay on site at serious incidents and work with the police.
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You get a report
A written report tells you what the officer found, what was done and when the site was made secure.
Police Alarm Rules
Keyholding that keeps your police alarm response in place
A professional keyholder helps you meet the rules the police set for alarms linked to them. The National Police Chiefs' Council guidance on police response to security systems (opens in a new tab) covers sites with a police-response alarm, known as a Type A system. These sites need at least two keyholders who can attend within 20 minutes. A key safe on the wall does not count as a keyholder.
Handing the role to Double Check Security Group means your cover never rests on one manager answering a phone at night. Under the same policy, if keyholders miss two call-outs in a rolling 12 months, police response can be withdrawn for three months. Our control centre runs 24 hours, and before cover starts we agree the response time we can meet at each address.
Our officers look for the cause of every false alarm and note it in the report, so the fault can be fixed. That matters, because three false calls in 12 months can cost an intruder alarm its police response. To check what your own premises need, read how to tell if your site needs a keyholder.
Client feedback
What Our Key Holding Clients Say
Reliable service is measured by the people who experience it every day. See what clients say about working with us
Response Times
Key holding and alarm response times agreed for your site
We agree a target response time with you for each site before cover starts, based on what the site needs and where it is. A shop on a London high street and a warehouse on a rural estate are different jobs. One number for both would tell you very little.
Setting the time first means you know what to expect from the first night. If your needs change, such as a new site or longer opening hours, we review the plan with you.
Running several sites is simpler with one provider. Double Check Security Group covers multi-site contracts nationwide, with one control centre taking every call and a plan for each address.
Areas Covered
London keyholding from our 24-hour control centre, with UK-wide cover
Our key holding services in London are run from a control centre in the capital that is staffed 24 hours a day. Our head office is at Unit 6, Skyline Business Village, London E14 9TS.
London customers use our alarm response for offices, shops, venues and homes across the city. For guarding and other services in the capital, see our security company in London page.
Beyond London, Double Check Security Group provides keyholding nationwide. We cover Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Liverpool, Newcastle, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, plus the towns and counties in between, such as Essex. You can see every city we cover on one page.
Key Security
How we keep your keys and site details secure
Double Check Security Group stores your keys securely and hands them only to the officer going to your site. Before cover starts, we visit your premises to learn the layout, the alarm panel and the ways in.
Every officer who may handle your keys is SIA licensed and vetted. Together we agree an emergency contact list, so the right person hears from us when an alarm needs a decision.
Site instructions tell the officer how to get in, where the alarm panel is and what to check first. Tell us when your locks or alarm codes change, so the keys we hold always work.
More Than Alarm Calls
What a keyholding company can do beyond alarm calls
Holding your keys lets Double Check Security Group help with much more than alarms. Our keyholding customers also use us for:
- Lock and unlockOpening your site in the morning and making it secure at night.
- Vacant property inspectionsRegular visits to empty buildings, with a report after each visit.
- Spare key deliveryYour keys brought to you when someone is locked out.
- Third party accessLetting approved contractors in for repairs or checks, then locking up.
- Emergency security guardingAn officer on site after a break-in until the building is made secure.
Each one runs from the same keys, the same site instructions and the same control centre, so you only brief one team.
Who We Hold Keys For
Commercial key holding for offices, venues and homes
Commercial key holding suits any site that stands empty when an alarm is most likely to go off. Double Check Security Group holds keys for offices, shops, banks, warehouses, industrial units and public buildings.
Sites We Hold Keys For
- Offices and shops
- Banks
- Warehouses and industrial units
- Public buildings
- Stadiums
- Theatres and music venues
- Cinemas
- Homes
Keyholding also suits stadiums, theatres, music venues and cinemas, which often sit empty between events. Our officers can answer alarms on those quiet days and lock up after late finishes.
We also provide residential key holding in London and across the UK. It suits second homes, homes left empty during long trips, and homes with a monitored alarm. You get the same SIA-licensed officers and the same written report as our business customers.
Why Outsource
Why firms hand alarm calls to a professional keyholding service
Handing alarm calls to our officers takes the night-time risk away from your staff. A manager who drives to a dark building alone cannot see who is inside, and our officers are trained for that moment.
The Health and Safety Executive says (opens in a new tab) employers must manage the risks before anyone works alone. Our officers know how to check a building, reset an alarm and call the police, so nobody on your team has to.
Your team gets a full night's sleep and comes to work fresh the next day. Many alarms turn out to be technical faults. Our officers can find the cause and reset the system, so the same fault is less likely to wake anyone again.
Keyholding Prices
How much does keyholding cost?
The cost of keyholding depends on your site, so Double Check Security Group prices each one after a free site assessment. The price is shaped by where your site is, the response time you need, how many sites you have and which extra services you add.
You get a clear quote for each address before cover starts. Adding lock and unlock or vacant property checks to the same contract often costs less than buying them one by one.
If you are weighing up pricing models, our guide compares flat fees versus call out charges and what each means for your budget.
Accredited and Approved
Why businesses have trusted DCS with their keys since 1998
Double Check Security Group has provided security services since 1998, and our customers rate us 4.9 on Google. When an alarm goes off at 3am, the officer who attends is one of our own SIA-licensed response officers.
Every officer holds an SIA licence. The company, trading as T-Class UK, is an SIA Approved Contractor for security guarding and door supervision. We also hold ISO 9001 certification and SafeContractor approval.
Keyholding is one part of a wider service. The same 24-hour control centre runs our CCTV monitoring and guarding, so one team can watch your cameras, hold your keys and send an officer to your door.
Common Questions
Keyholding questions from homes and businesses
020 3794 8182Free site assessment, with no obligation.
Get a keyholding quoteIs professional keyholding worth it for a high-value London home?
Keyholding is worth it for a London home that is often empty or has a monitored alarm, because a licensed officer comes in place of a neighbour or relative. Double Check Security Group holds keys for homes as well as businesses, with the same response steps and written report.
Do insurers expect keyholding for monitored alarms?
Your insurer's alarm rules are set out in your policy, so check the wording or ask your broker. Police-response alarms already need at least two named keyholders, and Double Check Security Group can take on that role for your home or business. Our written report after each call-out also gives you a record to show your insurer.
What is the difference between keyholding and alarm monitoring?
Alarm monitoring tells someone that your alarm has gone off. Keyholding puts a trained person with your keys at the door. Double Check Security Group provides both, so the call and the visit come from one team.
Can you take over from staff who attend alarms now?
Yes. Double Check Security Group visits your site, collects a set of keys and agrees a response plan with you. Once your alarm receiving centre has our details, our control centre takes the calls and your staff can sleep through the night.
What do you need from us to start keyholding?
To start keyholding, we need a set of keys, how to set and unset the alarm, your alarm receiving centre details and your emergency contacts. If your alarm is linked to the police, we also note its Unique Reference Number (URN). We agree site instructions with you at the first visit.
Do you provide keyholding outside London?
Yes. Double Check Security Group provides keyholding nationwide, from city offices to rural sites. We agree a response time for each site based on where it is and what it needs.
Request a call back about your key holding security requirements.
Free Site Assessment
Get a keyholding quote for your sites
Most businesses only look at keyholding services after the first 3am call. Setting it up before then takes one site visit, and from that night the alarm calls come to us.
Let our officers take the next alarm call, wherever your sites are.
Or call 020 3794 8182, 24 hours a day