Police investigate roughly one case of criminal damage to property every five minutes, according to a recent study.

A report from Direct Line for Business revealed that police across England and Wales investigate 283 reports of criminal damage to properties every day. And this rate of criminal activity has caused the number of landlord insurance claims to rise by 37% over the past five years, with the average insurance claim for repairs at £1,700.

Additionally, former and current tenants are responsible for causing damage to a property in 31% of incidents.

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“The scale of vandalism, arson and property damage across the country is frightening,” Sarah Larkin, landlord product manager at Direct Line for Business, told Property Reporter UK. “Not only are property owners faced with the cost of repairing damage, there is the emotional stress that a home has been attacked.”

“Landlords can reduce the risk of criminals targeting their properties by installing security measures such as CCTV and motion sensor lighting. [And] to reduce the risk of renting a property to someone that won’t treat it responsibly, landlords should complete comprehensive checks before signing a contract. These checks would identify irregularities such as if an individual has any County Court Judgements against them, will confirm their current address, search for any aliases used and verify bank account details among other checks.”