Part of the Costa del Sol security guide
The direct answer
An Ajax alarm with no monthly fee, alerts to your phone, sensors on the entry points and a separate code for each guest. It is yours, there is no contract term, and you manage it from wherever you are. The one-off cost is around 585–1,000 € installed, according to our 2026 price guide.
Why does an empty house need something different?
Because nobody is inside to notice anything. In Marbella, 44 % of homes are second residences and a share of them sit empty for much of the year, according to a study by LPA (Leading Property Agents of Spain).
The Policía Nacional and Guardia Civil have broken up gangs that marked doors with a fine thread, silicone or tape between the door and the frame: if it is still intact days later, the house is empty. There were arrests in Elche (Alicante) in November 2025, Tarazona in May 2026 and Seville in July 2026. The full story is in how to protect your house while it stands empty.
Burglaries in homes in Málaga province fell 23.9 % in 2025 (Ministry of the Interior crime figures): 2,408 reported cases, more than six a day. Fewer, not zero.
What does a holiday-rental alarm need to do?
- Alert you, with a photo from the detector, even if you are 2,000 km away.
- One code per guest, from the keypad or the app, deleted at the end of the stay. Nobody walks away with the keys to the system.
- Sensors on entry doors and windows plus a motion detector with a camera.
- A siren, indoor or outdoor, so an attempt does not go unnoticed in the urbanisation.
- Two communication paths: Ethernet or Wi-Fi plus a 4G SIM in the hub, so an internet outage does not silence it.
- No monthly fee: paying 30–50 € a month all year for a house that is let by the season makes no sense.
In the shop: Grade 2 alarm kit with dual 4G SIM and HDR camera · motion detector with camera · all Ajax alarms
Ajax or a subscription alarm?
Ajax is bought once and ties you to nothing; a subscription alarm adds up to 1,800–3,000 € in fees over five years. Ajax meets Grade 2 of EN 50131, the minimum Spanish rules require for connecting to a monitoring centre.
Connecting the alarm to a monitoring centre is an activity regulated by Spain’s Private Security Act 5/2014 that only a registered private security company may provide, and Dartel Solutions is not one: we neither provide nor resell it. What we install alerts your phone and the phones of the people you add.
And cameras?
Not inside the rented home: indoor cameras in a holiday let are a legal problem and a trust problem with your guests. Outside, on the plot and the entrances, yes, aimed at your property with a visible sign. Never at the street or the neighbour: we explain it in can my camera record the street?
What we do for the owner who isn't there
We install in Málaga and along the Costa del Sol, from Nerja to Sotogrande. We set up the app on your phone and, if you want, on your property manager's. When we finish we delete the project's photos, plans and access details and hand you the documentation protected with your key. Ask, and we sign a confidentiality agreement before we start.
Frequently asked questions
Which alarm is best for a holiday rental?
An Ajax alarm with no monthly fee, phone alerts, sensors on the entry points, a siren, two communication paths (Ethernet or Wi-Fi plus a 4G SIM) and a separate code for each guest. The one-off cost is around 585–1,000 € installed, according to our 2026 price guide.
Can I arm the alarm from abroad?
Yes, from the app, with a log of who armed and disarmed it.
What happens in a power cut?
The hub and sensors run on battery; the hub keeps alerting over the SIM if the internet drops.
Can my rental agency manage it?
Yes: they get limited access, and you remove it whenever you like.
Can I put cameras inside the home I rent out?
Not inside. In a holiday let, indoor cameras are a legal problem and a trust problem with your guests. Outside, on the plot and the entrances, yes, aimed at your property and with a visible sign.
Want to protect your holiday let or second home?
We tell you which entry points to cover, how many sensors you need and what it costs, with an itemised quote and no commitment. We work in Spanish, English, Russian and Ukrainian.
You might also find these useful
- How to protect your house while it stands empty
- An alarm with no monthly fees: what Ajax is and why we chose it
- Our installation service on the Costa del Sol