Audible Intruder Alarm
The Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Noise and Statutory Nuisance Act 1993 allows Councils to turn off intruder alarms if they are causing a nuisance. An alarm, which has been sounding for more than twenty minutes and is affecting residents, is deemed to be a nuisance. Once a nuisance has been established we can serve a Noise Abatement Notice on the Owner or Occupier or if the Owner or Occupier cannot be found we post the Notice at the property. This requires the owner or occupier to deactivate the alarm within one hour.
When We Can Locate the Owner or Occupier
We do everything possible to find the owners or occupiers of noisy intruder alarms. We liaise with the Police and neighbours. Once the owner or occupier has been located we allow a reasonable time to deactivate the alarm by extending the one hour limit if necessary.
When We Can't Locate the Owner or Occupier
If after one hour an alarm is still sounding and the owner or occupier has not been found the law allows us to deactivate the alarm. We take every care not to cause damage and use specialist companies contracted to us to open doors. If it is not possible to unlock a door we may have to break a window.
We will not necessarily enter a property -- it will depend on the circumstances e.g. if the alarm bell can be accessed and silenced from the outside. This would be our preferred course of action
The Precautions We Take
After entering a property we must ensure that we leave it secured. If locks are damaged we will replace the damaged locks of equal or better quality.
Whenever we enter a property and leave it secured we leave a notice inside to inform the owner or occupier. The Police are informed of the action we take so that owners or occupiers who return to their properties to find that we have silenced the alarm can immediately be informed of the action and the reason for it.
Collecting new keys
If locks have been changed the Owners or occupiers can claim their new keys immediately by presenting themselves at City Hall with valid identification and proof of ownership or occupation of the property.
We recover our costs from the owner or occupiers of the property and may prosecute them. A successful prosecution could lead to a fine, however we prefer to use informal methods where possible.
Our Code is to:
- Always attempt to find the owner or occupier of the property.
- Give the owner or occupier a reasonable time to deactivate the alarm.
- Take care not to cause damage to the property.
- Never leave a property unsecured after we have entered it.
- Take the most appropriate action to minimise disturbance to residents.
- Make every effort to inform the owner or occupier of our actions.
You can also:
Contact us on the 24-Hour Hotline 020 7641 2000.
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