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Securing Your Sanctuary: Safehouse Mechanics

In the hostile environment of Project Zomboid, a Safehouse represents a survivor’s primary technical defense against unauthorized intrusion. By “claiming” a residential or commercial structure, participants can establish a protected perimeter where uninvited players are programmatically restricted from entering, looting containers, or dismantling fortifications. Factions extend this logic, allowing coordinated groups to share ownership and coordinate the defense of their sovereign territory. This guide walk you through the technical configuration of these social systems on your FREAKHOSTING instance.

Difficulty

Beginner

Time

6 Minutes

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Technical Perimeter Protection

Unlike gameplay multipliers, safehouse rules are governed by the primary server registry situated within your /Zomboid/Server/[ServerName].ini file.
Technical VariableFunctional ResultStrategic Purpose
PlayerSafehousetrueEnables the fundamental capability for survivors to claim world geometry.
SafehouseDaySurvivedToClaim1Enforces a minimum survival duration (in real-world days) before a claim can be initialized.
SafehouseRemovalTime336Defines the inactivity threshold in hours (e.g., 336 = 14 days) before a claim is purged.

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Calibrating Raid & Trespass Logic

For competitive PvP environments, you may wish to implement a “Soft Claim” model where properties are identified but not physically impenetrable.
SafehouseAllowTrepass=true: Allows non-members to physically enter the building while maintaining the claim status. This is ideal for roleplay servers that allow social interaction within bases.

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Strategic Community Hardening

A common community challenge is “Spawn Locking,” where malicious users claim houses immediately adjacent to new player spawn points. We highly recommend increasing SafehouseDaySurvivedToClaim to 2 or 3. This ensures that only committed community members who have survived initial encounters can lock down territory.
To protect the world’s persistent geometry, ensure SafehouseAllowFire is set to false. This prevents malicious actors from using Molotov cocktails or campfire glitches to instantaneously vaporize complex player-built strongholds.

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Last Updated: January 2026 | Project Zomboid: Territory rules established.