No security!

darkknight84

Hi everyone. I have just moved into a one bedroom flat above a shop. The flat itself is fine and i really like it, and its locality is ideal. My only issue, and it has become a major one after the story i heard tonight, is that there is no security for the premises other than a lock on the front door.

The flat itself like i said is above a shop, but to gain access to the flat you have to walk to the rear of the building, and it has no security lights. The area is not too dodgy, so it was not an major cause for concern, but i could certainly see the potential dangers of it being so dark and secluded back there at night, i mean anyone with bad intentions could be lurking about out there and i wouldn't see them. and today a neighbour told me this really disturbing story.

He knocks on my door around 5pm and asks if i could take his bag downstairs for him as he has a broken leg (never met this guy before) So i help him downstairs with his bag, and i ask him how he broke his leg. so he tells me that a few weeks back he heard a noise outside like someone fiddling with the lock

(this neighbour has a window that opens out to the rear, and one the other end of his flat that opens out into the street)

so he said he opened the window to see what the noise was around 10pm, then was immediately set upon by a group of males who were hitting him with weapons and trying to force there way in through the window. my neighbour said he was punching them and trying to close the window but it was no good, and out of fear my neighbour said he ran to the other end of his flat and jumped out of the window breaking his leg in the fall and waking up 2 days later in hospital.

He only came back for a bag this afternoon, and is looking to now move on.

After hearing this i have ordered a large maglite torch to illuminate my path and give a would be attacker a beating with it. I am also going to add an additional lock (5 Lever Deadlock) to my door to ensure no one can gain entry. But i think more should be done by the landlord to ensure would be attacker/burglars do not have the shadows to themselves to strike from.

My questions are these.

1) Is the landlord responsible for ensuring there are working security lights at the rear?

2)should i have been informed of this assault before i moved into the property, as it happened before my move?

3)what can i do to get the landlord to secure this property i.e Laws he is breaching etc?

Sorry for the long post, but i could not make it shorter.

Thank you for reading.

specialboy

Have you tried asking the landlord to fix the lights?

darkknight84

The neighbor said he already spoke to the landlord about this with no luck. to be honest mate this is low rent accommodation with no credit check etc, so you basically expect it to be a bit neglected in areas. but this is i feel is an area that cannot be neglected because you could get assaulted because you couldn't see the would-be attackers lying in wait. But yes, i will ask myself, i just wanted some ammo to take with me if you know what i mean.

Corelli

A frightening story. Iy might not be your own landlord who is responsible for this area. Do you know who owns the Ladbrooks premises? It might be them who would be responsible for that part of the building and might be more approachable.

One thing though, it wasn't necessary to single out the race of the attackers.

G_M

darkknight84 wrote: »

My questions are these.

1) Is the landlord responsible for ensuring there are working security lights in the alleyway, and at the top of the metal staircase?
Is the underpass public or private? Does the council own it (like a road/footpath? If so, speak to the Highways dept about ligting. If private, who owns it? (try a land registry map search). It may belong to the building and be the responsibility of the freeholder - your landlord probably owns a lease for the flat, not the freehold for the building. You could ask the landlord to ask his feeholder though.

2)should i have been informed of this assault before i moved into the property, as it happened before my move?
No (unless you specifically asked about crime). and anyway, your LL or his agent may not have known about the neighbour's attack.

3)what can i do to get the landlord to secure this property i.e Laws he is breaching etc?
Ask him. No laws.

Ideally, you need to add a 5 lever BSI deadlock to the door. These are fitted into the door (not screwed on to the back) so it involves cutting a hole into the door to fit the lock into.

You can ask your LL to fit one, and he can agree or refuse. You could offer to pay to have one fitted - he may agree to that. But beware just doing it yourself (or paying a locksmith to do it) without your LL's permission. He could charge you for the 'damage' to the door, so get written permission.

Better still would be a deadlock on the outer door, but
* you'd have to give keys to each flat
* owners of each flat need to agree
* freeholder needs to agree

Similarly with the lights - ask, but he does not have to agree. Offer to pay? As a last resort you could install a light yourself. A solar light with PIR motion detector would just need screwing to the wall outside (as long as it gets sunlight) so causes minimal damage - just screwholes which can be filled in when you leave, and no wiring.

Or a light in the hallway inside the white door? but this would need wiring in and maybe a timeswitch to leave it on all night? and who pays the electricty....?

Anyway, starting point is a discusion with the LL and a willingness to contribute to cost.

darkknight84

Corelli wrote: »

One thing though, it wasn't necessary to single out the race of the attackers.

I didn't think of that, I just told the story as it was told to me. Thanks for your reply!

AdrianC

darkknight84 wrote: »

I didn't think of that, I just told the story as it was told to me. Thanks for your reply!

Your neighbour may have had an agenda in relating the story in that manner. First thing I'd be doing is trying to find out if the story is true or not. If it was true, I'd expect his injuries to be a lot more apparent than just a broken leg, and I'd expect there to have been local press coverage. It may also have not been entirely random or break-in related...

Start off with ringing the police's non-emergency number (101) and asking for a crime prevention officer to give advice on security measures for the building. Mention that you've heard rumours of an attack, and are concerned. Get their recommendations in writing, then approach the landlord/agent, and find out exactly how much is or isn't their responsibility. If the landlord just owns one flat in the building, he probably has no greater control than you do over what goes on even with the back door - but he can, if he's so inclined, prod upwards to the freeholder and management. If he isn't so inclined, you may want to consider how long you want to live there.

G_M

Corelli wrote: »

One thing though, it wasn't necessary to single out the race of the attackers.

Equally it wasn't necessary to single out that the staircase was metal, or the flat was 1 bedroom.

Any story has lots of uneccessary detail, and political correctness has now become such a hot topic that people have gone overboard.

jjlandlord

darkknight84 wrote: »

He knocks on my door around 5pm and asks if i could take his bag downstairs for him as he has a broken leg (never met this guy before)

The scary part only starts when you go to the library to check the city's archive and discover in an old newspaper article that a guy lived in that flat 150 years ago and had a broken leg when he got murdered in the underpass while carrying his bags.

You look at the article's illustration... That's exactly the guy you've helped.