Housing association to fit new flat fire door AND new locks.

[JenniferBooth]

We had our flat door modified in 2019 to meet regulations and it has a self closer. An inspection officer came round unannounced on 12 JULY and checked it said thankyou and left. Received a letter last Friday and these doors have to be replaced URGENTLY (July was four months ago) i rang them today and we will also have to have new locks fitted and will be given three new keys. (DH says we can sort a locksmith out later) Has anyone else had this done? Im very concerned about the security aspect of this. They are doing a lot of the estate

Is that the best you can come up with cos what i said was true

@JenniferBooth which insurance provider asks if anyone else has a key to your property? I’ve been insuring my home for 39 years and never had that question.

I don’t believe that question is on a contents insurance application, what I’ve said is the truth.

Riddle me this SH haters
Last night my niece and i were discussing a falls pendant and a key safe with my elderly DM
As i was just getting off the sleep last night i had a wait a minute moment.
We are not allowed to have anything on our door or the walls of the communal hallway outside our flat
So what if someone who is a falls risk needs a key safe installed outside their door??!!!!

Have you asked your HA about the possibility of a key safe for this situation?

No but im going to.

So hopefully they will say yes.

It only occured to me last night when i was in bed

We have key safes here on communal walls in social housing for people who have care needs and whose carers need access.

So hopefully that should be ok

Jesus, do you sit up late at night thinking of catastrophic events you can blame on your HA?? 😂

Awwww shame for you that its already happened.
https://www.justanswer.co.uk/property-law/84xp8-live-sheltered-housing-put-key-safe-door.html

Like I said, I know places in similar situations where key safes are fitted, including in supported and social housing and on communal walls - and as you've said, you've not actually contacted them to ask.

You’ve literally posted a person asking a question which is not not proof of anything.

I spent several years working in care, caring for vulnerable and disabled patients living in social housing. Every single one had a key safe and multiple grab rails/mobility aids fitted etc. They quite obviously don't mean this type of thing isn't allowed.

This person put one in without permission and literally says other people already have them and it is allowed as they have permission.

Its what the courts would call setting a precedent

And as I said, I can think of places here which are housing association properties with communal entrances which do have key safes.

And you haven't actually contacted your HA to ask if this is possible yet?

It is. And we have been told that its up to us whether we have the lock changed or not after the door is fitted. Locks are the tenants responsibility despite the wishful thinking belief on here from the SH haters that HA tenants arent allowed to change locks. Housing manager rang me today to tell me all this and to apologise for the WRONG information given out by the contractors that we arent allowed to change the locks. They shouldnt have been saying any such thing

So that's good,

You can change locks.
HA don't have a key to your property
You can fit a key safe if need be.

yes and apparently the contractors shouldnt have been saying otherwise

Found this last night.

And now..................
Exibit A.
https://www.safelincs-forum.co.uk/topic/5714-fd-30-door-replacement-mandated/?fbclid=IwY2xjawIfWbxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHaPdnAK1XYc09ItLJ1mYu87cuFOmNji-MkZUHnnxwaJ-4ywZsZi0QDNX6w_aem_dJWoqrAjHmltVvNRY1o1Yw
From page 2.
Members
1
Posted May 29, 2023
I'm in this situation, except it's really messed up... I am a leaseholder in a block of Council flats. The building is 3-stories, and ~9m tall.
Five years ago my block of flats had all of the doors replaced (£880 each) "in accordance with fire safety regulations".
They said that these refurbishment works included "replacement door and frame (door set) which are compliant 30 FD 4 panelled doors along with the associated ironmongery which includes door viewers, security chains, letter plate and numerals".
After they did the work, we looked at our doors and found that they are FD30S doors, in that they also include the intumescent strips and smoke seals.
That's all fine... but fast-forward to today, and now they are trying to replace our FD30S door sets again, this time... with FD30S door sets (again).
When we asked why, they said the following:
"The current doors to a number of flats within [REDACTED] are not fully certified FD30s door sets, and while I can see some of the components we would expect to see in an FD30S doorset, they have not been installed together and tested as a complete set to achieve at least 30 minutes fire resistance from both sides. For this reason it has been recommended that these doors are replaced with complete certified composite FD30s doorsets, as per current legislation."
Is it me, or is this insane?
We have in writing from the Council that all of our doors are FD30 rated doors, and were invoiced when these works were completed. We don't specifically have anything saying they are smoke doors, but you can clearly see that they are.
We have tried to get basic information from the Council regarding these works for a year. They have ignored all of our requests, both written and verbal, even thoughout the consultation period. To summarize these issues:
When the FRA was done
We don't have a copy of the FRA or know what's on it
We don't have a itemized breakdown of costs which explains why the works are 480% more expensive than last time (£4,200 per door set vs £880 5 years ago)
We don't know what regulation has changed requiring FD30S door sets installed as independent parts to be entirely replaced by composite FD30S door sets
The Council and their contractor continue to ignore all of the tenants and our requests, and are pressing forward with the works as of last week and intending to invoice us, and have us pay for these works. It's insanity!!
Can anyone help us to understand why our existing FD30S door sets are not adequate? Are there actually new regulations that require do FD30S door sets to be replaced like-for-like with composite door sets if they were not installed all at the same time?
If that is true and our doors are not up to current legislation, thus requiring replacement, aren't the Council thereby liable for a criminal offence having left all of the tenants here at risk of death from fire (The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 - clause 1.2)?
I also noticed that the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022: fire door guidance - clause 6.5, states that since 23 January 2023 any Fire Risk Assessments must include checks on flat front entrance doors on both sides - we know for a fact that this has not been done.
Please Save Our Souls! 🙏🙏🙏 Any help of advice will be a God-send as they are undertaking the works now!

Any help of advice will be a God-send as they are undertaking the works now!

Make a cup of tea, sit down and do a crossword or water the houseplants. It'll be done soon.

As an HA tenant, I do get it. The doors the HA provide only have a Yale type lock, super easy to break into. I added a lock where there's a keyhole and you turn a proper key (don't know the right name for them). I also added bolts on the inside. Also fitted a nicer door handle and painted the door. Then they wanted to change it! So basically undo all the work I did!

They did fit one of those closer things at the top one time and as soon as they left I removed it! The door opens in such a small space, basically only big enough to open the door (there's then stairs to go up to the flat proper). So the closer thing was just bloody awkward.

What is really bloody irritating, is you will ask them to come and do a repair that genuinely needs doing and you get fobbed off and have to wait for months. I had to get a solicitor involved to get my roof repaired. But when "they" want to do something, it's oh so urgent and you have to bend over backwards for them.

I think it's hard for people to understand when they've not had dealings with them. And yes, I pay all my (actually quite high) rent myself. I don't have a "free" house.

Wow your attention span is LOW It clearly says that i found that post last night. And the date is clear as well.

You can so totally tell the people who live on their smartphones. And it proves my point about health and safety exploitation..............4 and a half grand for a like for like door.

Yep And the people who dont WANT to understand