The Safe House is a paid alternative to manual Lay Low. It removes 25 Heat after a ten-minute stay, giving you a shorter break from active play at a cash cost.
| Term | Value |
|---|---|
| Fee | $50,000 from cash |
| Stay | Ten minutes |
| Heat reduction | 25 on completion, down to a minimum of zero |
| Reuse cooldown | Two hours from activation |
| Early cancellation | Unavailable |
The Heat reduction is applied after the stay expires, when your state is updated. It is not an immediate reduction at payment or a continuous accelerated decay effect.
The reuse cooldown starts when you activate the Safe House. Under the current timings, approximately one hour and 50 minutes of cooldown remain after the ten-minute stay ends.
Open your city's Safe House screen and check availability, fee and cooldown. You need the fee in cash, an available local Safe House and no active Safe House use or reuse cooldown.
You do not need to own the business or belong to its owner's family to pay for the public service. If it has a player owner, the fee credits their accumulated business income. City-operated Safe Houses also offer the service.
The game treats the active stay as laying low for many action screens. Crimes, training, travel and starting PvP attacks are unavailable during the stay.
A Safe House does not prevent another player attacking you. The restriction applies to your own attack action. Account for that risk if you are involved in a war.
It is not a way to leave jail or hospital, restore Life or refill resources. Those systems have their own recovery and release options.
| Option | Cost | Duration | Completion Heat reduction | Cancellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manual Lay Low | No service fee | 30 minutes | 25 | Possible, with no completion reduction |
| Safe House | $50,000 | Ten minutes | 25 | Unavailable |
Choose the Safe House when saving 20 minutes is worth the fee and its reuse cooldown fits your plans. Use manual Lay Low when preserving cash matters more. Passive Heat decay has its own schedule in either case.
Paying while below 25 Heat cannot produce a negative Heat balance. Consider whether you need the full service before activating an uncancellable stay.
Mechanics checked against the game code on 17 September 2026.