Codelocks: Code Locks, Key Safes and Emergency Access for UK Homes

A code lock or key safe is one of the quiet pieces of household kit that only matters on the day it matters: the night the power goes off, the morning a carer arrives to find no answer, the afternoon you come home to a flat battery in the door. Codelocks is a UK maker of keypad locks and key safes, and its range splits into two kinds that behave very differently in an emergency. Mechanical push-button locks need no battery and no power at all. Electronic and smart locks depend on a battery, so they need checking before winter and a plan for when it runs flat.

For a household getting ready, the practical rule is simple. Put a mechanical lock or a key safe where access must survive a power cut, and treat any electronic lock as something that needs a battery routine and a mechanical override key kept outside the house. Whichever you choose, a code lock must never be the only way out of your home in a fire, and on a flat entrance fire door it must be fitted without drilling the door itself.

What Codelocks makes for UK homes

Codelocks makes keypad locks and key safes: mechanical push-button locks that open with a sequence of buttons and no power, electronic and smart locks that add a battery and, on some models, app or code management, and key safes that hold a physical key for carers, family and emergency services⁵.

For a household preparing for emergencies, the useful way to think about the range is by what each type does when something goes wrong, not by what it does on an ordinary day. A lock that needs a battery is a lock that can fail at the moment the power is already out and you are already dealing with a torch, a phone and a cold house. A lock that needs no battery cannot fail that way. A key safe does not replace a lock at all: it is a way to let someone in when you cannot reach the door yourself.

That shapes where each type belongs in a household plan. The Home Security: A Household Guide covers doors, windows and outbuildings as a whole; this page covers what Codelocks makes and how to keep it working through a power cut, a storm or a medical emergency. The Extra Help in an Emergency guide covers the wider arrangements for older, disabled and medically dependent households, including the Priority Services Register and carer access.

Mechanical push-button locks: no batteries needed

A mechanical push-button lock is the simplest thing in the range and, for emergency planning, often the most useful. You press a set sequence of buttons, turn a knob or lever, and the door opens. There is no battery to go flat, no electronics to be affected by damp or cold, and nothing to reprogramme after a power cut. Wiltshire and Swindon's preparedness guidance makes the same point about lighting: wind-up torches and lanterns are available which require no batteries at all⁶. The principle carries across to locks. Kit that needs no consumable is kit you do not have to remember to maintain.

That matters most in the places a household is least likely to check. A side gate, a shed, a garage, a porch or an outbuilding may be unheated and rarely visited, which is exactly where a battery lock is most likely to be found flat. A mechanical lock in those positions keeps working through a winter storm without anyone thinking about it.

The trade-offs are real, and worth knowing before you choose:

• One code, no audit trail. A mechanical lock opens for anyone who knows the sequence, and there is no record of who opened it and when.
• Changing the code means reconfiguring the lock, not deleting a user in an app.
• No remote or timed access. You cannot let a carer in for one afternoon and then switch their access off from a phone.
• Physical wear. Buttons and internal parts wear with use, so a well-used lock needs servicing.

For a household, the sensible split is a mechanical lock where access must survive anything, and an electronic lock only where the convenience of several codes or remote management is worth the battery routine. Neither is a substitute for the door itself: police crime prevention advice is that simply shutting a door will not prevent burglaries, and you should double-lock the door every single time you leave the house⁷. On uPVC and multi-locking doors, lift up the handle, then turn and remove the key to engage the hooks and latches⁷.

Electronic and smart locks: what to check about power

An electronic or smart lock adds convenience: several user codes, a record of entries, sometimes remote management. It also adds a battery, and a battery is the part of the lock most likely to let you down in an emergency. The household job is to make the battery predictable rather than to hope it lasts.

Check the battery and charger carry the CE or UKCA safety marking, which fire and rescue services advise for any battery and charger to show they meet safety standards⁸. Check the battery compartment and any charging lead regularly by touch; if a lead is frayed or faulty, do not plug it in or switch it on⁹. Look for scorch marks on plugs or sockets, and do not use electrical items if you see them¹⁰. Keep an eye out for fraying power leads, and make sure you cannot see any coloured wires between the plug and the power lead¹¹.

A workable routine for an electronic lock:

1. Note the battery type the maker specifies, and keep one spare at home with your emergency kit.
2. Replace it before winter, not during a storm, and again at the interval the maker gives.
3. Test the lock after every battery change, with the door open, before you close it.
4. Keep the mechanical override key outside the house, with a trusted neighbour or in a key safe.
5. Check the lock after a power cut, even if it has worked throughout.

The Backup Power at Home guide covers charging and battery safety more widely, and the Power Cuts: A Household Guide covers what to do when the supply goes off.

Key safes for emergency and carer access

A key safe is a lockable box that holds a key, fixed to an outdoor wall with a chosen code set to it, and some key safes are police-approved¹. It does not replace the door lock. It answers a different question: how does someone get in when you cannot reach the door yourself?

That question comes up more often than people expect. NHS ambulance guidance for Wales lists falls among the reasons people call 999, and advises that someone trusted has a key or that you have a key safe outside, and that emergency services are aware of the code⁴. Warwickshire County Council's assistive technology guidance suggests considering a key safe to enable fast and easy access to your home in an emergency, and notes that the control centre can store the key safe PIN and pass it on to friends, family or the rapid response service¹⁴. Fire and rescue service guidance for people who use mobility aids adds a simpler point: keep keys where you can find them in case you need them in a hurry, preferably near to your door¹⁵.

A key safe is also a way to give a carer access without handing over a door key or a door code. The arrangements differ by nation, so check what your local authority and health board offer:

The same principle applies to community defibrillators, which are often kept in locked cabinets. The Resuscitation Council UK advises that AEDs should be kept in unlocked cabinets to reduce delaying treatment, and that if a cabinet is locked it should use a coded lock rather than a key, with the code provided to the national database¹⁶. Northern Ireland's ambulance service notes that staff in Emergency Operations Centres can direct 999 callers to the nearest registered AED and provide access codes for secure cabinets if required¹⁷. London Ambulance Service has warned that cabinets with locks, faulty cabinets that do not open and incorrect codes could significantly impact whether a patient survives a cardiac arrest¹⁸. A code that nobody has told the right people is worse than no code at all.

Keeping access working in a power cut

A power cut tests every part of a household's access arrangements at once: the door, the phone, the lighting and the person trying to get in. Keep important documents safe and handy¹⁹, and put a lock's fitting instructions, code record and override key in that same place.

The wider power cut advice is consistent across the UK. Keep a charged power bank, a torch and spare batteries at home, and keep important telephone numbers written down somewhere accessible²⁰. A corded landline phone might still work in a power cut²¹. Write down important telephone numbers, and try to get a corded, old-style phone which will continue to work even when the power goes off²². Leave a light on so you know when your power comes back on, switch off appliances that could pose a hazard, and check on vulnerable neighbours or family²³.

For access specifically, that translates into a short checklist:

• Keep the override key outside the house, so a flat battery does not lock you out.
• Keep a torch by the door, so you can see the keypad or the keyhole in the dark.
• Write the code down somewhere secure, not on a note stuck to the door.
• Tell one trusted neighbour where the key safe is and that it exists.
• Check the lock after the power returns, and replace the battery if it is low.

The Emergency Lighting at Home guide covers torches and lanterns, and the Staying Informed and in Touch guide covers phones and numbers.

Changing a code and when to do it

Change a code when the reason for it changes, not on a fixed calendar. The moments that matter are when someone who knew the code no longer needs access, when a carer's cover ends, when a key safe has been opened in front of others, and when you move into a home whose previous occupants knew the code.

For a mechanical lock, changing the code means reconfiguring the lock itself, following the maker's instructions for that model. For an electronic lock, it usually means entering a programming mode and setting a new user code, again following the maker's instructions. Either way, the household jobs are the same:

1. Change the code before you need it, not during an emergency.
2. Tell the people who need it in person or by a method you trust, not by a note on the door.
3. Update anyone who holds the code for you, including a control centre or a rapid response service if they store it¹⁴.
4. Test the new code with the door open before you close it.
5. Record the change with your important documents.

The same logic applies to keys more widely: a code or key that someone else may still hold is not secure. If a key safe is there for emergency access, tell the emergency services the code, as NHS ambulance guidance advises⁴.

Where a code lock must not be the only way out

A code lock is an access control, not an escape route. In a fire, everyone in the household needs to get out without stopping to remember a sequence, find a key or wait for a battery. That is the limit that matters most, and it is the one most easily overlooked when a lock is chosen for convenience.

On a flat entrance fire door, official fire safety guidance is specific: do not drill any holes in the door, for example to fit a spy hole, change the letterbox or fit a new doorbell². Fire doors are fitted with self-closing devices, which can be fitted to the top of the door or within the frame². If your front door is a fire door, a lock change is a job for a qualified fitter who understands what the door is for.

The escape route itself needs keeping clear. Fire and rescue services advise never charging or storing an e-bike, e-scooter or mobility scooter in hallways, communal and sleeping areas, near exits or anything that can easily catch fire, and charging or storing in a secure outbuilding where possible³. A code lock on a front door is no help if the hallway behind it is blocked.

For households where someone cannot easily reach or operate the door, plan the exit with them rather than for them. London Fire Brigade advises carers of people who hoard to work with them to develop an escape plan²⁴. The same approach works for any household: walk the route, check the door opens easily from the inside, and make sure everyone knows what to do. The Home Emergencies guide covers fire, carbon monoxide and gas leaks, and the Extra Help in an Emergency guide covers households that need more support.

Support, warranty and spare parts

Codelocks supports its products through its own documentation: fitting instructions, code-setting guides and the model-specific information supplied with each lock. The maker's product pages carry the details for each model, including options such as Clean by Codelocks, an optional finish which can be applied to any of the maker's products⁵. The maker states that Clean by Codelocks features an ISO certified photocatalytic coating which, when applied to its locks, offers enhanced protection against viruses, bacteria, germs and other environmental toxins⁵.

That finish is a supplement, not a substitute. The maker's own safety notice is clear: Clean by Codelocks should not be considered a replacement for an overall cleaning and disinfection strategy⁵. For a household, that means normal cleaning still applies, and the finish does not change how you maintain the lock, the battery or the key safe.

For spare parts and warranty, keep the paperwork that comes with the lock: the model name, the fitting instructions, the code record and the date of fitting. Register electrical items with the manufacturer to be informed of any safety recalls¹⁰. That advice is written for appliances, but it applies just as well to an electronic lock: if the maker issues a notice about your model, you want to hear about it.

Safety notices and recalls

Check your lock and key safe against the maker's notices, and act on them. No recall of a Codelocks product is recorded here, but the wider safety notices that bear on this kit are worth knowing.

• Scorch marks. Do not use electrical items if you notice scorch marks on plugs or sockets¹⁰.
• Frayed leads. Check electrical leads regularly by touch; if they are frayed or faulty, do not plug them in or switch them on⁹.
• Battery markings. Check for the CE or UKCA safety marking to make sure your battery and charger meet safety standards⁸.
• Button batteries. Keep spare batteries away from children, and check that battery compartments close securely¹².
• Counterfeit safety devices. Counterfeit anti-choking devices have been subject to a UK Government product recall²⁵. The same caution applies to any safety product bought from an unfamiliar source: check it is genuine before you rely on it.

That warning is about a community defibrillator rather than a front door, but the lesson transfers. A code that is wrong, unknown or held by nobody who needs it turns a safety measure into an obstacle. Write the code down, tell the people who need it, and check it works before the day you need it.