To not want the front door to be double locked?

[Keke94LND]

So I live in London on the ground floor of a terraced house, there are two other flats in the building and there is a sturdy front door to the building, and then obviously we all have our own front doors for our individual flats.

My boyfriend and I never bother double locking the front door, but the neighbours always do, even if they just pop our for five minutes. I find it annoying, that the door is always double locked when I get in from work, especially as it is getting darker now, mainly because having to unlock the door twice adds an extra 10-15 seconds onto opening the door and, especially as you have to bend down to unlock the second lock, I'm paranoid about getting mugged or attacked from behind. I'd like to be able to get into the building as quickly as possible without faffing about. My boyfriend also has an expensive bike that could easily be stolen whilst he's faffing about unlocking the door.

On one hand I understand that the neighbours do it for extra protection to stop burglaries, but on the the other hand I think the risk of being mugged/attacked is actually higher, especially as the front door is very sturdy anyway and would be pretty hard to break into, plus we all have extra front doors as well.. so AIBU?

My area's generally safe. I always double lock the door unless I'm just nipping to the corner shop (there and back in 5-10mins)-in fact it annoys me when my husband doesn't. I sometimes get home from work and he's taken the dog out without double locking it. Apart from the sense of reassurance, not putting the chubb lock on invalidates the insurance if we were to to burgled. I also want it on at night.

RIm locks affix onto the doorframe, whereas mortice locks are set into the doorframe, hence mortice locks are stronger and offer more protection as they are harder to break into. Double locking offers double the protection, but individually the mortice lock is by far the most secure.

@Keke94LND
Definitely have contents insurance even if you're renting! Its offered to students in Halls after all.

YABU. I would want the door locked too.

Put up a camera and motion sensitive lights which come on when anyone approaches the door. This will ensure that you are not fiddling around "in the dark" for your keys. It will also be a dis-incentive for anyone to sneak up on you because muggers do not like lights which come on and illu7minate their activities! You should also get into the habit of having your keys ready to hand as you appraoch your front door.

I never carry my keys in my handbag in case it gets snatched. I always have them in my pocket. I have them in my hand as I approach my front door. A key point jabbed into the eye or raked down the face is a pretty lethal weapon used in self defence.

[quote PigletJohn]@Keke94LND ".. as we rent we don't have insurance.. "

You don't have any possessions?[/quote]
Landlord has building and contents insurance as it's a furnished flat, I don't bother insuring my inexpensive items, bf has insurance for his bike,

I remember going into high rise flats with the front door open. The tenant was livid because most residents were locking the front door, to prevent homeless people coming in and sleeping against their properties. Some were using drugs and left needles when they left in the late mornings. So I agree for safety reasons to lock the external door too.

Unless you can afford to replace literally everything you own, all at once, you need contents insurance. It's about a tenner a month, and worth it.

Aside from that. I would be extremely concerned from a fire risk point of view that there's a double lock on the main front door. Paths of exit through common areas should be unimpeded, so whilst a thumbturn lock on the inside would (probably) be fine, if it's the sort of lock where you need a key to get out it's a massive no-no. Apart from the delay in unlocking it in the event of a fire, people panic and leave their flats with no keys in an emergency situation and could end up in a bottleneck with no exit.

There's a reason that most front doors to communal spaces don't have this sort of lock on them.

In terms of deterrents for safety, you want the approach to your door to be as clear and well lit as possible. No places for people to hide, plenty of light so it's all visible from the street, CCTV (or fake cctv) as a deterrent.

@MrsPelligrinoPetrichor

Yale locks can be popped so easily, deadlocks are essential.

It's a Banham lock

YABU.

You have to compromise for communal living. The double lock is one of your compromises. 10-15 seconds will likely make no difference if someone is watching you/has followed you and wants to attack. You mentioned you’ve been chase before. Maybe one of your neighbours had their door kicked in/were burgled…For insurance and the safety of everyone in the building the front door should be double locked. If you can’t handle this then save as hard as you can to buy your own place or rent further out so you can afford a house to yourself.

If I were your neighbour I would be complaining that you failed to double lock the door. YABVVVU.

Does the landlord's contents insurance cover your possessions, or just things like washing machine, carpets etc that he/she would have to replace?

If there was a fire and you had to replace everything you own - clothes, toiletries, bedding, towels, lamps, posters, tech, kitchen stuff - even if you live modestly, it would cost a lot. Get insurance.

On the door front - we have a composite door with a single lock that has three bolts that fit into the door frame. You double lock the one lock with a key. We double lock from inside at night using a key but you can get the same lock with a knob you turn from inside to double lock.

Overall YABU, a single Yale lock is no protection at all. You can't leave the house unprotected (including your neighbour's stuff). Could you fit a security light outside, clear hedges etc to improve security? TBH if someone wanted to mug you as you open the door, they'll do it whether it's one lock or two.

Any idiot with a hairpin (let alone something you can buy for a fiver on ebay) can get through the front door easily, without being noticed, unless it’s double locked

I'm guessing you didn't grow up in London? That would explain both your nervousness about the area and also your fairly lax attitude to home security. I've always lived here and if there is a lock I use it. Not because I'm scared but because to me it's common sense.

Realistically if a desperate and violent thief has his eyes on your partners bike he is going to grab it whether it takes your partner 10 seconds or 30 seconds to get it through the front door.

I'm sorry for your experience of being chased. That sounds terrifying.

@Simonjt

If someone is chasing you home you won’t be a to single unlock nevermind double, so while an awful thing to happen, a single lock wouldn’t prevent it.

I had a yale lock on my old flats communal door, they’re so easy to slip if I forgot my key I could get in as quickly as unlocking it.

Check your insurance, failing to lock the door may invalidate it, but more importantly it could possibly make you liable if you not locking the door voids the other tenants policies.

When I was chased home I was able to get in with my key, they caught up to me literally as I was slamming the door shut.. in hindsight I probably shouldn't have actually gone to my house lol

I think the useful suggestions of a Ring-type doorbell with CCTV capabilities and decent lighting are better than asking your neighbours to reduce their security (to save you a few seconds!) and invalidate their insurances - which I assure you it would - in what sounds like quite a rough area. Having locks at the height where a door would be kicked to be kicked in suggests that is a dodgy area with relatively high risk of crime.

It seems really quite foolish to not have contents cover as a minimum, since many perils like flood and fire can happen unexpectedly anywhere. Would you have enough in savings to replace all your clothing, for example, if your building went up in flames?

If someone wants to gain entry to your home, the quickest way is sometimes to kick the door in, and it's not as hard as you'd think. If they want to get in, get valuables and run, the noise doesn't matter, and unfortunately a lot of people won't bat an eyelid if they do hear a loud bang in a busy residential area. It is much better to have that big, heavy door providing an extra deterrent and protection.

@ItsSnowJokes

Can you open both locks from inside without keys? If not your freeholder may he on breech of fire regulations. All locks in communal fire exits (like in flats) need to have a keyless exit. That could be the way to get them to change the locks.

Yeah you can open the door from the inside without a key

[quote Simonjt]@Keke94LND Why do you think renting means you don’t need insurance? Is your flat void of contents, or are you happy to pay to replace all of your belongings if you are burgled, have a flood, fire etc?[/quote]
I don't feel the need to insure my H&M tops?

If somebody wanted to launch an opportunistic attack on you (which is highly unlikely but, yes, a concern) they’d be much better off getting in through the main front door then waiting until you went to unlock your flat door. Far less chance of it being seen. Double locking the front door and getting a Ring doorbell are far more effective security measures than getting through the front door 10-15 seconds faster 😂

I’m sorry but I think you really haven’t thought this through and if I were your neighbour and you weren’t double locking the door I’d be pretty pissed off.

I am with OP …never double lock front door…for me it’s my fear of a fire and my family not being able to get out in the panic!

I don't feel the need to insure my H&M tops?

Don't feel browbeaten to get contents insurance. We never had it until we bought our own home.

We did have a fire recently which burned through carpets, bed, mattress. Would the LL's insurance cover you in that scenario?

@Muchasgracias

YABU.

You have to compromise for communal living. The double lock is one of your compromises. 10-15 seconds will likely make no difference if someone is watching you/has followed you and wants to attack. You mentioned you’ve been chase before. Maybe one of your neighbours had their door kicked in/were burgled…For insurance and the safety of everyone in the building the front door should be double locked. If you can’t handle this then save as hard as you can to buy your own place or rent further out so you can afford a house to yourself.

We're in the process of buying somewhere

I’ve had ground floor house doors and ground floor shared hallway doors.

My insurance in house would not pay out unless front door chubbed not just yale.
My shared hallway had intercom buzzer entry so Chubbing was difficult(impossible?). Flat door had yale and Chubb.

I think without doubt you should have door double locked. Think at very least all flats need to speak about this.