Bike Stolen from Secure Area

SuperHan

Hi,

I live in a rented apartment and as part of the rent I pay an extra £55 a month to park my car in secure underground parking. To get to this parking you must go through 2 fobbed entry gates, and the same to leave.

There are also bicycle racks in this secure parking area, where my and OH keep our bikes. Last night, however, one of our bikes were stolen. It appears that somebody has smashed through one of the exit gates and cut the locks of several bikes.

This should be covered by our house insurance (we haven't followed this line yet as there is a large excess), but do we have any grounds to ask for compensation from the developers of the building who we rent from? We are paying extra for this secure area (namely for the cars, but although not damaged they were obviously at risk) which evidently isn't secure enough. Could we maybe ask for the amount for the secure parking to be deducted from our rent?

Please advise! Not sure whether to write this off as a bad experience or try and claim as much back as possible! The bike wasn't even 6 months old

BitterAndTwisted

In the first instance I would recommend that you WRITE to the agent/landlord explaining what has happened. If someone has cut the locks of several bikes they will most likely be receiving more than one letter about this. What does the agreement about the "secure" area have to say about the landlord's responsibilities in such an eventuality?

SuperHan

I've sent an e-mail. The developer (which is who we pay rent to - they are our "agent", except they aren't actually estate agents, and they don't own the apartment!) are based in the same building as our apartment, so we are going to go and see them when we get a chance (will probably be tomorrow). The tenancy agreement we have makes no reference to the secure area - it would seem that it's a standard tenancy agreement for everyone, we have just added an extra £55 on per car for the secure parking.

redped

I can't see how the developers are responsible for this. They'll rightly point out that nothing can ever be 100% secure. Do you have any written documentation from them guaranteeing that no cars will ever be stolen/broken in to whilst parked in the secure area?

It sounds like the £55/month charge is for the parking spot(s), and the fact there are 2 gates leading to this area is really just a security incentive for people to park their cars there.

Voyager2002

Good advice from #2.

In addition, make sure that your loss is reported to the police and if at all possible speak to an officer who has visited the site. A police officer should be able to say whether (i) the security was of a reasonable standard but the thief was very determined; or (ii) the security was inadequate.

SuperHan

In fairness, I don't really expect anything back from them. I think what you redped says is probably going to be right. The £55 is for the parking spots though, but I can pay £35 to park my car behind one gate (instead of two), or for free on the road. But again, this is for the cars, not the bike.

SuperHan

I'm waiting to hear back from the developers before contacting the police. As I said, other bikes are missing, so we are waiting to see if the police have already been contacted.

Like I say, didn't really expect to be able to hold them responsible, but you guys are always more familiar with these sort of things, so it was worth asking!

Thanks for your help everyone