Bicycles in communal entrance to flat

Wee_Willy_Harris

princeofpounds wrote: »

(Post clipped)

I- there is a trip hazard and fire hazard here

Flammable bikes? What will they think of next?

g_attrill

What does the lease say? I would think that it states that no property whatsoever must be stored in the common areas, so it doesn't matter that there isn't anywhere else to store them, that is their problem. Obviously the other problem is that if they take it into their flat they may still cause damage to the walls in the hallway.

mikey72

Just keep leaving the entrance door propped open.
It'll take care of itself soon enough.

poppysarah

I hope there's not a lease in the land that allows hazards to be left in stairwells!
the man from the fire brigade will be happy to tell people to remove them.

One_Day_Rodney

Due to fire regulations, all communal areas should be kept clear.
A brief guide booklet can be found here....

http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/cms-service/stream/asset/?asset_id=34220006&

Below are sample leaflets issued by a housing authorities to it's tenants outling the rules.

http://www.estuary.co.uk/images/pdf/FireSafetyinFlats07.pdf

http://www.connecthousing.org.uk/Documents/RepairsandMaintenance/FireSafetyinCommunalArea.pdf


Maybe you could issue something similar along with a notice period in which the residents have to comply (say 2wks).

Emphasise that these are statutory regulations and not just your whim.

Maybe put up a copy of the leaflet on the wall of the said area.
You could also provide secure cycle storage at the same time.

Owain_Moneysaver

Wee_Willy_Harris wrote: »

Flammable bikes? What will they think of next?

Bikes have tyres, and various other plastic and rubber bits, that could give off noxious smoke in a fire.

Starrystarrynight

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

Bikes have tyres, and various other plastic and rubber bits, that could give off noxious smoke in a fire.

and anything that might hinder escape in an emergency isn't acceptable.

I'd be asking for the advice of the local station's fire safety officer. There must be some regulations that would cover this kind of situation.
Hope you find a good solution, OP.

Wee_Willy_Harris

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

Bikes have tyres, and various other plastic and rubber bits, that could give off noxious smoke in a fire.

As does a washing up bowl full of water (apart from the tyres, obviously)... Would you call that a "fire hazard"?

ET1976

As someone has said, surely their leases stipulate something along the lines of not blocking communal areas with any objects?

I have had a sort of similar issue with my neighbours - not in a block of flats but with the pathway which runs between our 2 houses which is owned half and half by each of us but both of us have access rights over it to get to our back gardens.

They keep storing their bikes in there, even though they have massive front and back gardens. I asked them a couple of times not to (I'm a leaseholder and my lease says all access ways must be kept clear, however they are freeholders) and they appeared to be all nice and accommodating, but soon enough the bikes reappeared. It got to the stage recently (after 8 years) where there were 5 bikes in there, completely blocking it (5 bikes for 3 people...). I just move them all into their back garden when I need to get through.

Recently there were some workmen round and they were much less careful with the bikes than I am, I think they just chucked them in a pile somewhere. Since then neighbours have built a gate to their garden and there's not been a bike in sight in the pathway since .

If people are so inconsiderate to block a communal area with bikes (not to mention breaching their lease, presumably), I don't think there's anything wrong with just moving the offending articles, especially when a reasonable approach has been tried. Put them outside, let them get rained on. Might get the message through.

As others have said though, you do need to look at a practical solution for storing bikes in the long term, if the block has grounds which make it possible.

the182guy

mikey72 wrote: »

Just keep leaving the entrance door propped open.
It'll take care of itself soon enough.

And leave a trail of small polythene bags of crushed up grass that leads to the propped open door. It will be like following a rainbow to a pot of gold.