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Closing a second home on the Costa del Sol for winter: what to check on the door and keys

Updated on 24 September 2026.

Between late September and November, many homes on the Costa del Sol are locked up until spring. They are second homes belonging to families from Málaga, from other parts of Spain and to owners who live in the Netherlands, Belgium, France or the United Kingdom. This guide covers what to check on the door, the lock and the keys before you leave, with the latest figures and their sources.

Summary

Before closing a second home for the winter, check four things: that the lock cylinder turns easily and can cope with the salty coastal air, who holds a copy of the keys, that any smart lock has charged batteries and up-to-date software, and what your home insurance says about long periods without occupants. If you come back and find the door forced or the property occupied, do not go in and do not change the lock yourself: call 112, 091 or 062.

The figures: second homes, foreign buyers and burglaries in Málaga

  • Second homes. The province of Málaga has around 331,000 secondary homes, 32% of its housing stock, according to 2024 figures from the Spanish Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda published by idealista/news.
  • Foreign buyers. In the second quarter of 2026, foreign buyers accounted for 37.01% of home purchases in the province, the second highest share in Spain after Alicante, according to the Property Registrars’ statistics (Estadística Registral Inmobiliaria). Across Spain, British (1,843 purchases) and Dutch buyers (1,830) were the two nationalities with the most purchases that quarter.
  • Burglaries. Burglaries of homes fell by 19.2% in the province of Málaga in the first half of 2026: 983 recorded cases, compared with 1,216 in the same period of 2025, according to the Crime Report (Balance de Criminalidad) published by the Spanish Ministry of the Interior in September.

The report does not separate main homes from second homes, and the trend is not the same in every coastal town. Home burglaries, January to June:

Municipality 2025 2026 Change
Málaga 261 160 -38.7%
Marbella 213 121 -43.2%
Mijas 118 87 -26.3%
Estepona 83 80 -3.6%
Vélez-Málaga 73 88 +20.5%
Fuengirola 31 42 +35.5%
Benalmádena 37 40 +8.1%
Rincón de la Victoria 24 16 -33.3%
Nerja 20 23 +15.0%
Torremolinos 17 22 +29.4%

Source: Spanish Ministry of the Interior, Crime Report for the second quarter of 2026, cumulative data from January to June.

Where the numbers are small, a handful of cases moves the percentage a lot, so it is worth reading the absolute figures and not just the change. The trend across the province is downward. Even so, a home that stays closed for months deserves a check before you leave, especially the door and the keys.

1. The lock cylinder and the salty air

On the seafront and in developments close to the beach, salty humidity is what does most damage to a lock that goes unused for months. The cylinder stiffens, the key goes in with difficulty or will not turn, and the problem shows up on the day you come back.

The European standard EN 1670 grades the corrosion resistance of door and window hardware with a salt spray test: grade 1 means 24 hours of testing and grade 4 means 240 hours. The cylinder standard EN 1303 records corrosion resistance in the sixth digit of its classification, so you can look it up on the cylinder’s specification sheet.

What to do before you leave:

  • Lock and unlock several times with every copy of the key, not just the one you use every day.
  • Clean the cylinder with a dry lubricant made for locks, graphite or PTFE based. Oil attracts dust and sand and makes the problem worse over time.
  • If the key already catches or is hard to turn, replace the cylinder now rather than in spring. On the coast it makes sense to choose one with a high corrosion resistance grade.

2. The keys: how many copies there are and who has them

Before closing up, take stock: how many copies exist, who has them (family, neighbours, a maintenance company, a rental manager, the cleaning service) and whether any have gone missing over the years. If some copies cannot be accounted for, the sensible thing is to change the cylinder before winter.

The most practical option is usually to leave a copy with someone you trust who lives nearby, checks on the property from time to time and collects the post. A full letterbox is a clear sign that nobody is home. Cylinders with a key registration card add a layer of control: copies can only be made by presenting the card.

3. Smart locks: batteries, updates and a backup plan

A smart lock lets you give access to maintenance staff or a property manager without handing over physical keys. In a house that will be closed for months, check three things: the batteries and whether the app warns you when they run low, any pending software updates, and the mechanical key or emergency opening method, which should be with someone who can be reached.

Since 11 September 2026, the EU Cyber Resilience Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/2847) requires manufacturers of connected products, smart locks included, to report actively exploited vulnerabilities and serious incidents affecting their security. It is a good moment to check that your model still receives updates from its manufacturer. There is more information on our smart locks in Málaga page.

4. Light timers and the clock change

A timer that switches on a light at dusk helps the house not look empty. The clocks go back on Sunday 25 October 2026: timers that do not adjust automatically will switch on an hour off. Check them before you leave or ask the person with the key to do it.

5. Home insurance and long periods without occupants

Many home insurance policies include specific conditions for properties left unoccupied for long periods, or require certain locking measures to cover theft. For policies under Spanish law, the Insurance Contract Act (Ley 50/1980, article 11) requires the policyholder to tell the insurer about circumstances that increase the risk during the contract. Policies taken out in other countries follow their own rules. Either way, read the conditions before you leave and make sure the lock fitted meets what they require.

If you come back to a forced door or an occupied property

If the door is open or forced, or there are signs that someone has been inside, do not go in and do not touch anything. Call the National Police (091) or the Guardia Civil (062), depending on the town. The European emergency number 112 also works in Andalusia and can handle calls in several languages.

If the property is occupied, the owner should not change the lock or go in on their own, and a locksmith should not do it without a court authorisation. Two references help explain the legal framework in Spain:

  • Instruction 1/2020 of the Spanish Attorney General’s Office considers second homes to be a dwelling (morada) when their owners live their private life there, even occasionally. This frames the occupation as unlawful entry into a dwelling (allanamiento de morada) and allows interim measures to be requested from the judge.
  • Organic Law 1/2025, in force since 3 April 2025, added the offences of unlawful entry into a dwelling and unlawful occupation (usurpación) to the fast-track trial procedure (article 795 of the Criminal Procedure Act).

The exact steps depend on each case and are best handled with a lawyer. When the court orders entry or eviction, the locksmith opens the door in the presence of the court officials and replaces the lock at the same time. At Mou Cerrajero Málaga we carry out court-ordered lock openings as forensic locksmith experts accredited by the APFC.

Quick checklist before closing up

  • Try every copy of the key in every door.
  • Lubricate the cylinders with a dry product and replace any that already stick.
  • List all copies of the keys and change the cylinder if any are missing.
  • Leave a copy with someone you trust who lives nearby.
  • Check the batteries, updates and emergency opening of any smart lock.
  • Adjust light timers for the clock change on 25 October.
  • Read your policy’s conditions on periods without occupants.
  • Keep the number of a local locksmith and the emergency numbers at hand.

24 hour locksmith in Málaga and on the Costa del Sol, in five languages

Many owners of second homes on the Costa del Sol live outside Spain. At Mou Cerrajero Málaga we speak English, and we answer by phone and WhatsApp in English, Spanish, French, Dutch and Arabic. We give you a fixed price on the first call or by WhatsApp, before we set off. We normally arrive within 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the area, and give you the exact estimate on that first call.

We work across the whole province, with dedicated pages for areas such as Marbella, Mijas, Fuengirola, Benalmádena, Torremolinos and Rincón de la Victoria, as well as Málaga city.

Frequently asked questions

Is it better to change the cylinder before leaving or when I come back?

Before. If the key is already hard to turn, salty air and months without use usually make it worse, and it fails on the day you return. If a copy is missing, changing it before you leave means the house does not spend the winter with keys unaccounted for.

What lubricant should I use on a lock near the sea?

A dry lubricant made for locks, graphite or PTFE based. General purpose oils attract dust and sand and end up clogging the mechanism.

Does an occupied second home count as unlawful entry into a dwelling in Spain?

Instruction 1/2020 of the Spanish Attorney General’s Office states that second homes are considered a dwelling when their owners live their private life there, even occasionally. How each case is classified is up to the court.

Can a locksmith change the lock of an occupied property?

Not without a court authorisation. With an entry or eviction order, the locksmith opens the door in front of the court officials and changes the lock at the same time.

Do you help owners who live outside Spain?

Yes. We answer by phone and WhatsApp in English, Spanish, French, Dutch and Arabic, and you get a fixed price on the first call or by WhatsApp, before we set off.

Sources