The sound of a neighbour’s alarm going off can be disturbing, often prompting people to check it out to see if there is a break-in or some other unwanted activity. However, when this is repeated regularly for no reason it can become more than irritating.
City of London Police said: “Disagreements between neighbours, however small, can fester over time and do lasting damage to your relationships in the long term. That’s why we would always encourage you to raise your concerns with one another and find amicable solutions as early as possible.
“If you can’t resolve a dispute with a neighbour it can really wear you down. This can have a serious effect on your quality of life, especially if it leads to you feeling threatened, isolated or scared in your own home or community.”
View 3 ImagesNuisance alarms can be disabled if they persist(Image: Getty Images)
Most noise problems are dealt with by the local authority responsible for the area which covers everything from car and house alarms repeatedly sounding for no reason through to shouting, dogs barking and loud parties. for people living in England and Wales you can find your local council here.
In Scotland and Northern Ireland it is slightly different. For Scotland you need to go here and in Northern Ireland here.
According to North Yorkshire Council there are several steps you can take to prevent nuisance alarms. It said on its website: “Noise from faulty burglar and car alarms can cause severe noise disturbance.”
It added: “If you hear a burglar alarm going off, you can report it to the Police, so that evidence of criminal activity can be investigated. But sometimes, burglar alarms go off because of a fault in the system, causing a noise problem for neighbours.
“We receive many complaints about the noise caused by burglar alarms, especially those that go off at night when their owners are away. Always try to speak to the householder or business first before contacting us – they may not be aware of the problem.”
It advised: “Always try to speak to the householder or business first and make them aware of the problem. They may not know the alarm is sounding whilst they are away from the premises, and it is an easy problem to fix.”
View 3 ImagesYou might be able to resolve it by speaking to your neighbour(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
However it said if you can’t contact the householder or the situation doesn’t improve you can contact the local council. North Yorkshire Council explained how it would deal with the problem. It said: “If an alarm is sounding for an extended period, please contact us as soon as possible so we can try to locate a keyholder or find out when the occupants are likely to be returning to the premises.
“If the alarm is still causing a problem, we’ll visit the property to make an assessment and speak to neighbours to find out how the noise is affecting or likely to affect them. If we’re satisfied that there is a problem with the alarm, we’ll arrange for it to be disabled – we will try to make sure this is done on the same day.
“If the alarm has stopped or is infrequent, we can still write to the owners advising of the complaint and giving them more information about maintaining the alarm in the future.”
The council has the power to act when:
- the alarm has been sounding continuously for more than 20 minutes or intermittently for more than an hour
- the noise is likely to give people living or working nearby reasonable cause for annoyance
It said: “We have the power to enter premises to disable the alarm. In most cases we will only need to disconnect the wiring to the external alarm box and will recover the costs of disabling the alarm from the occupier. If we need to physically enter the building, we must obtain a warrant.
North Yorkshire Council said: “If you protect your property (commercial or domestic) by installing or taking over an alarm system, you have a responsibility to ensure it does not become a noise nuisance. All alarms should be fitted with an automatic cut-out device which will disconnect the sounder within 20 minutes of being activated.
“It can be supplemented with a flashing light that will continue to operate after the sounder has stopped to alert the public and police.” It added all owners of newly adopted or installed alarm systems must:
- inform the local police station in writing of the names, addresses and contact telephone numbers of at least two ‘nominated keyholders’ who can be called upon to de-activate the alarm in the absence of the owner
- notify the Environmental Health Department of the installation of the system and of the name of the police station that holds the keyholder information
To make sure you don’t have a problem with your alarm, you should:
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- ensure the alarm is regularly maintained
- ensure the alarm’s cut-out device is set it to a maximum of 20 minutes – you also need to ensure the alarm will not go off again, unless a different sensor is set off
- before you go away, give the keyholders details to your neighbours so if the alarm goes off, they can contact them