Council have asked me to move my keysafe, for the carers round the back of the block of flats.

Sorry Op but your post made me laugh_ the Anti social behaviour unit? I can only assume you live somewhere very quiet and well behaved if he could find time for this.

I’m wondering if the grumpy bloke who complained about the noise of a key safe being clicked open is also the person that smashed your key safe 🤔

Its unclear how a key is “safe” if the cover is smashed off?

If you need to replace the broken key safe, then a reasonable compromise is to assure the council that you’ve bought one that does not make noise and you’ve asked your carers to be mindful of other residents when entering.

Relocating the key safe is a suggestion that is not viable for you or the care givers.

Are you sure it's the key safe itself?

My neighbours have carers come and they always seem to do their handover chat loudly directly underneath my bedroom window before 6am.

Perhaps it's more that the key safe location is the gathering point rather than because of the noise of the box.

It will be loud if they slam it shut (which is easy to do if in a rush) but I think you could try to mind something to muffle it? Or ask them to close it quietly? What times are people accessing the safe?

It will still be noisy round the back! And another resident will complain- tell the council that!

The ones Age UK fit have a rubber cover, push buttons and then a dial to turn. I don’t think anyone would call them noisy.

I wouldn’t be moving it. Definitely argue it

Ask the council to produce the risk assessment they have done and shared with the care service.

If they approved they can't suddenly unapprove it can they?

I'd refuse to pay. They can bill the neighbour. Why can't the new keysafe go on the front?

I presume it was a man from the Council. A woman would have known it's not just about seeing where you're going, it's about staying safe

The care company should do a risk assessment and provide you with a copy of the report. You can then provide the council with a copy of the

Are you sure the letter is from the council and not made to look like it is?
Before the council act in any way regarding any noise issue, there is a long process to go through - record keeping, noise monitoring by the environmental team etc. For something to be a noise nuisance, it has to meet a certain threshold.

I can't see you getting a letter instructing you to move a key safe would happen without anything happening else prior to this. I think your neighbour is trying it on.

Put it in writing to the council, your MP and County Councillor that this request is unreasonable and that the council would be putting lone female carers at risk as well as jeopardising your current care arrangements. Put what you’ve told us about the frequency of its use and that it is only located next to a bathroom. Ask for them to come out and formally assess the noise level caused by its use. And say you won’t comply until the results of that are in.

If its already been smashed then there is already a safety issue which will be worse in a dimly lit area, what if that gets smashed too. I would write to the care company fir their opinion, it needs a risk assessment. Why do you need to pay.

This is what i keep thinking what absolutely miserable intolerant person to complain about a box being opened and closed and god forbid the carers might be a bit chatty.

Op contract your local councillor today and get them onto it, as If you don't have enough to worry about now you have this.

OP, don't go along with this nonsense.

Email your councillor or MP. Outline the situation. Ask them to help you resolve this so that carers aren't put at risk and that you don't have an unnecessary £80 expense.

This is daytime noise, after 7am? I think the council are being unreasonable here.

I second contacting your MP. Our former (tory) MP has been surprisingly helpful and swift in the past!

Are you sure it's the just sound of the key safe? I was at a flat when a Carer arrived- she was talking loudly on her phone as she approached the house, opened the key safe and only ended the conversation when she was well into the person's house and a foot from her.

Complain to the council, be prepared even if they don't back down to go to the Local Government Ombudsman. If you have a decent MP, seek their support.

I'd also be making life difficult for the neighbours.

This doesn’t sound like it meets the criteria to be classed as substantial prolonged “noise nuisance”.

I use multiple key safes as a domestic cleaner and they are not anti social sources of noise.
Starting my car, opening and shutting the front door is far louder than getting a key out of a little box.

Discuss with council. If a local helpline fitted your existing safe free of charge then contact them?

No need to spend £80 on a fancy digital one- a basic metal safe is just as secure and can be bought cheaply online (if it needs replacing). If not why are you buying a new safe when you can’t afford to? The existing one still works- the council are simply asking you to relocate it? (and you can say No if you disagree)

I'd write back to the council raising my concerns in writing. And I'd raise them with the caterer company also to see how happy they are about their staff wandering around in the dark and winter ice etc alone.

If your key safe has been damaged when it's in full view, how safe will it be hidden in the dark? Did someone try to break in?

If someone gets into that they can break into your house. That needs dealt with asap. You are at risk.

If the neighbours don't like the noise they should move house. Although like others have said, if the carers are noisy chatting and banging about outside they need told about the complaint.

Is it possibly for you to buzz the carers in? Or for a neighbour to do so in the event of you being unable to? (By prior arrangement and agreement and only for emergencies) Would that then allow your door keys to be in an indoor key safe on a landing or whatever and potentially covered by a blink security camera or something? Or is that not the done thing?

You need to be safe from burglars and also be saved if required by carers. Who shouldn't be in the dark with torches alone....

I would push back hard on this. The council is just looking for an easy way to appease your neighbour, but it is not a reasonable thing to insist on and if you are just as difficult as the neighbour, they will probably back down.

Keysafes don't make a noise. Have a nice day OP.