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13 November 20267 min readBy Axario Home Editorial TeamHome adminSecurityHolidays

Going Away in December? Your Lock-Up-and-Go Checklist, and What to Leave for the House-Sitter

A little planning before you leave means coming home to a house that's exactly as you left it.

Suitcase, house keys and house-sitter instructions by the front door before a December holiday

The bags are packed, the car is serviced and the out-of-office is on. But does the person looking after your home know how to set the alarm to stay mode, where the main water tap is, or which security company to call when it goes off at 2am?

Why December needs a little extra planning

Criminals know when South Africans go on holiday. Multilink Financial Services, citing 2024 data from insurers including Auto & General and the South African Insurance Crime Bureau, says housebreaking incidents increase by up to 48% in December. Santam notes that SAPS recorded 6,259 residential robberies between October and December 2024.

"Criminals are sophisticated and watch houses to see when people are leaving to go on holiday," says Marius Kemp, Head of Personal Underwriting at Santam.

Burglary isn't the only risk. Summer storms, burst geysers and power surges don't take holidays either, and a small leak can run for days when nobody is home.

Check what your insurance expects while you're away

It's easy to assume you're covered. But policies often come with conditions, and an empty house is exactly when they matter.

  • Unoccupancy: "Most insurers limit how many consecutive days a property can be left unoccupied before cover conditions change," says Wynand van Vuuren of King Price Insurance. Check your policy's limit before a long break.
  • Security conditions: some policies require the alarm to be on when no one is home, and burglar bars and security gates to be in place. "Leaving an alarm inactive or a window open can be seen as negligence, which could affect your claim," says Maroba Maduma of BetterSure Financial Consultants.
  • Renting your home out over the holidays: tell your insurer first. "Many policies exclude cover for malicious damage or theft when your private residence is rented out," Kemp warns.
  • Proof of what you own: photos, serial numbers and receipts make a claim far easier if the worst happens. We covered what insurers ask for in What You'd Actually Need to Prove After a Break-In or a Burst Geyser.

Your lock-up-and-go checklist

  1. Tell your security company you'll be away, and give them a contact number for a friend or family member in case the alarm goes off.
  2. Ask someone you trust to check on the house, collect post and put the bins out.
  3. Lock every door, window and security gate, and test that the alarm works.
  4. Switch off the geyser and unplug non-essential appliances. Consider closing the main water supply if no one will be staying. If your geyser is getting on in years, read Are Your Home Appliances Quietly Counting Down in Your Home? before you leave.
  5. Leave a side lamp or a light on a timer, rather than every light off.
  6. Don't post your trip on social media until you're home.
  7. Lock away valuables and important documents, and note where they are.
  8. Check your insurance conditions, and save your insurer's emergency number and your policy number on your phone.

What to leave for your house-sitter

A house-sitter, pet-sitter or helpful neighbour can only look after your home as well as the information you give them. Santam suggests setting clear expectations and explaining how to arm and disarm the alarm, including stay mode. Beyond that, a good handover usually covers:

  • The house: alarm and gate, the main water tap and DB board, the geyser, the pool, plants and the garden, bin day
  • Who to call: your security company, a plumber, an electrician, a neighbour and family
  • The pets: feeding, medication, walks, the vet's number and any quirks
  • Keys and remotes: who has which ones, and what needs to come back
  • What to do if something goes wrong: a burst pipe, a power outage, an alarm that won't stop

Never write alarm codes, safe combinations or passwords into a handover that could be lost or forwarded. Share those separately, in person.

We wrote about capturing instructions once and reusing them in Explain It Once. December is the perfect time to put that into practice.

How Axario Home helps

  • A "Going away" plan. Add a Going away event with your travel dates. From the event, create a sitter pack: a handover PDF with the sections you choose, such as home and security, key contacts and pet care.
  • Instructions, written once. Write instructions for the alarm, the gate, the pool, the garden or the geyser, add photos, voice notes and files, and link them to the person who needs them, like your house-sitter or gardener. Download a house manual PDF with the sections you pick.
  • Pet care that travels. Keep feeding, medication, vet and vaccination details on each pet, and create a pet care PDF for the sitter.
  • Keys and remotes, accounted for. Record which keys and remotes you've given to which helper, and mark them returned or lost when you're back.
  • Everyone you might need. Keep emergency contacts and your service providers, from the security company to the plumber, in one place.
  • Pre-holiday to-dos, shared. Create to-dos and assign them to household members, so everyone knows who's switching off the geyser and who's calling the security company.
  • Insurance details where you can find them. The "If something happens" pack keeps your home and vehicle insurer, broker and policy numbers together, alongside emergency and key contacts.
  • Proof of what you own. Create a home inventory PDF of your items and photos before you leave.

Your house-sitter doesn't need to log in to anything. You create the PDF and share it with them.

Lock up, hand over and go. Start your free 14-day Axario Home trial.

Frequently asked questions

What should I do before going on holiday? Tell your security company and a trusted contact you'll be away, lock every door, window and gate and test the alarm, switch off the geyser and unplug non-essential appliances, avoid posting your trip online, and check what your insurance requires while the house is empty.

Does my home insurance cover me while I'm on holiday? Usually, but often with conditions. Many insurers limit how many consecutive days a home can be left unoccupied before cover conditions change, and some require the alarm to be on when no one is home. Check your policy wording, and tell your insurer first if you're renting your home out.

What should I leave for a house-sitter? Clear instructions for the alarm, gate, water, geyser, pool and garden, contact numbers for your security company, plumber, electrician and family, pet care details, and what to do if something goes wrong. Share alarm codes separately, not in writing.

Can Axario Home create a handover for my house-sitter? Yes. Add a Going away event with your dates and create a sitter pack, a PDF with the sections you choose, such as home and security, key contacts and pet care. You can also download a house manual of your household instructions and a pet care PDF for each pet.

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