Types of noise nuisance

You're responsible for any alarm on your property. If it accidentally sounds continuously for 20 minutes, intermittently for more than an hour, or is judged to be giving reasonable cause for annoyance you could have to pay costs if we have to disable the alarm.

To avoid your alarm becoming a nuisance: 

• install a good quality alarm that complies with British Standard BS4737
• have the alarm serviced regularly
• fit a 20 minute cut-off device to your system and make sure it does not re-sound
• make sure sensors cannot be triggered accidentally and that pets are not left in rooms where the alarm could be triggered

Complaints about alarms

If we get a complaint about an alarm an Environmental Protection officer will try to contact the owner or occupier of the premises. If this fails and the alarm continues we'll try to switch it off. We'll try do this without gaining access to the inside of the property. If this is not possible, we'll serve a noise abatement notice. We'll get a warrant from the magistrates to enter the property and silence the alarm. Any costs for these works and the officer's time will be invoiced to the property owner. This could amount to several hundred pounds.

If you're experiencing issues with a neighbour's alarm, report the problem to us using the details at the start of this guide.