NEW 📢 Limited launch offer: up to 70% off your first month on every game!See plans
Game Panel
See plansUp to 70% off your first month on every game

How to change the safehouse settings of your Project Zomboid server

Project ZomboidUpdated Oct 18, 20264 min read

A safehouse is a building a player claims as their own. The Safehouses group decides who may claim one, who may walk in or take items, whether fire damages it, and how long a member can stay away before they are removed.

Open the editor

  1. Open your server in the panel and click the Settings tab.
  2. In the list on the left, under Config files, click Server Settings. The file name is shown at the top.
  3. If the list says No config files yet, start the server once. The game writes its settings file the first time it runs.
The Config files list on the Project Zomboid Settings page with Server Settings and Sandbox Settings

The editor only saves while the server is stopped, because the game writes this file while it runs. Stop the server, change the settings below, then click Save only or Save & start. The full steps are in How to change Project Zomboid server settings in the panel. Headings such as Safehouses appear in capitals in the editor, and the search box at the top finds any setting by its name.

Every setting in Safehouses

SettingWhat it doesValues
Players can claim safehousesPlayers and admins can claim a building as their safehouse.On or off
Only admins can claim safehousesOnly admins can claim safehouses.On or off
Visitors can enterPlayers who are not members can walk into a safehouse without an invite.On or off
Fire damages safehousesFire can damage safehouses.On or off
Visitors can take itemsPlayers who are not members can take items from a safehouse.On or off
Respawn in your safehousePlayers respawn in the safehouse they belonged to when they died.On or off
Days survived before claimingIn-game days a player must survive before they can claim a safehouse. 0 means straight away.A whole number from 0 to 2147483647
Remove inactive members after (hours)Real-world hours without visiting after which a player is removed from a safehouse.A whole number from 0 to 2147483647
Claim any buildingPlayers can claim shops and other buildings that are not homes.On or off
Protected only while the owner is awayA safehouse acts like any other house while its owner is online.On or off
No loot respawn in safehousesItems do not respawn in claimed safehouses.On or off

Ideas for common servers

  • A friends-only server: leave Players can claim safehouses on and Visitors can enter off.
  • A server with a strict admin team: turn on Only admins can claim safehouses.
  • To keep a safehouse protected even while its owner is online, leave Protected only while the owner is away off.

Good to know

Already hosting it somewhere else? Move your server to us

CREATE YOUR GAME SERVER
READY TO GET STARTED?

Save up to 30% on your new game server.
Premium performance, instant activation, and unbeatable reliability all at a better price.

Create AccountRent a Server

OUR LATEST BLOGS

best factorio mods for multiplayer servers in 2026
Factorio

Best Factorio Mods for Multiplayer Servers in 2026

The mods that matter on a Factorio server are the ones that do not cost UPS. Factorio runs its whole simulation on one thread at 60 UPS, and that number, not RA

Max avatarMaxJun 23, 2026
Terraria base with glowing items and characters
Terraria

Terraria Optimization & Hosting Guide 2026: Best Settings, Specs, and Server Tips

A vanilla Terraria server for a handful of friends needs about 1 GB of RAM. A tModLoader server running Calamity or Thorium needs 4 to 6 GB, because mods load a

Max avatarMaxDec 2, 2025
CS2-optimization setup 2025
Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 Optimization & System Requirements: Ultimate Performance Guide for 2026

High ping in Counter-Strike 2 and low frames are different problems with different fixes, and treating them as one is why most guides fail. Ping is distance and

Evan avatarEvanNov 27, 2025
See more