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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To not want the front door to be double locked?

184 replies

Keke94LND · 07/09/2021 10:18

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?

OP posts:

BlackTee40 · 07/09/2021 12:23

@Sparechange

If you want to mitigate the risk of being mugged on your doorstep, you are far better off getting a Ring doorbell or Nest camera installed by the door, and keeping it double locked

Visible CCTV is a huge deterrent and will give you extra peace of mind, rather than reducing security for everyone in your block

And they aren’t expensive to install

This.

Speak to everyone else about having a sensor light fitted above the door too.

CaptSkippy · 07/09/2021 12:24

You're more likely to get broken into than mugged at the door.

However, there are ways you can reduce the risk at the door. A bright light operated on a sensor and an obvious security camera could deter criminals.
You could discuss this with your neighbors, as they seem to care about security a great deal. It might make them feel safer too.

BertramLacey · 07/09/2021 12:34

Burglars would be very disappointed once they entered my flat 🤣

Anything I had that was worth anything has been Ebayed to pay the rent. I don't even have a TV. Of course there is the risk of fire or flood, but I'll take the money I save on insurance and put it towards replacing stuff.

Original poster

Keke94LND · 07/09/2021 12:36

@BertramLacey

Burglars would be very disappointed once they entered my flat 🤣

I have a friend who is really posh and rich, she couldn't wrap her head around the fact that I didn't have family hierlooms or silverware 🤣

OP posts:

MolyHolyGuacamole · 07/09/2021 12:37

It's fair if you simply find it annoying, I don't know if you added the extra bit about fear of mugging to make it seem justified, but if that's true then all you're doing is reinforcing the idea that it should be double locked.

It's fine to simply find it annoying, I would, I lived in a house where we had a shared entry way with the house next door and this was never an issue and would have annoyed me (we were renting too) you don't need a whole back story to make it more justifiable. As I said, it's just made your case worse

ILoveAllRainbowsx · 07/09/2021 12:43

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Nocutenamesleft · 07/09/2021 12:44

If you and your boyfriend worry that taking an extra 10-15 seconds because you could either be mugged or your boyfriend might have his bike stolen out of his hands

Then why do you want to make it easier to get into your own building?!?

Ironic really.

burnoutbabe · 07/09/2021 12:45

@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.

Yea this is the main issue. Can people get out in a fire without using keys?

If you have to use a key to get out, that's going to kill someone if a fire broke out.

Original poster

Keke94LND · 07/09/2021 12:47

@MolyHolyGuacamole

Fair enough, it's not an excuse though.. I mentioned abit above that I was chased home before, I managed to get into the house using the key, and the guys caught up with me just as I slammed the door shut, dunno what would have happened had I not been able to get in as quickly, but I appreciate that isn't a super common thing to happen and it's probably made me paranoid

OP posts:

takehomepay · 07/09/2021 12:49

@burnoutbabe

Yea this is the main issue. Can people get out in a fire without using keys?

If you have to use a key to get out, that's going to kill someone if a fire broke out.

Have you RTFT? OP has already answer this.

flibberyjibbery8 · 07/09/2021 12:49

It's not just about what burgulars take, it can be very unnerving to know a stranger has been in your home poking about in all of your belongings.

Nocutenamesleft · 07/09/2021 12:50

@Keke94LND

To be honest. I don’t think this is about door locking.

But your personal safety.

There’s tons of videos on TikTok (weirdly). From people who teach small self defence moves that whilst walking home or unlocking the door could benefit from. Little things to holding the keys in your hands discreetly. But in a way that could be used in an attack

That might help. But after reading the whole post. I’d really rate double locking the doors. Not only for insurances purposes. But for safety of your fellow residents and yourselves.

RightSaidPleb · 07/09/2021 12:50

I've read your posts OP but not others so not sure if this has been mentioned.

But you're also probably invalidating your landlords contents insurance by not double locking.

I don't know any household insurance that don't require double locking. So I agree with others YABU

takehomepay · 07/09/2021 12:52

@RightSaidPleb

But you're also probably invalidating your landlords contents insurance by not double locking.

Yes, already discussed at length up thread.

Original poster

Keke94LND · 07/09/2021 12:57

@flibberyjibbery8

It's not just about what burgulars take, it can be very unnerving to know a stranger has been in your home poking about in all of your belongings.

All my comments about there being nothing to take is in response to people saying I should get contents insurance, I obviously don't want burglars in my flat

OP posts:

lockdownalli · 07/09/2021 12:58

YABU

LittleGwyneth · 07/09/2021 13:05

I think you're probably disproportionately worried about getting mugged on your doorstep- it would be a bonkers place to mug someone as so many people have door cams now. London is honestly a pretty safe place, unless you live in a massively rough area, I think probably worth trying to worry about this less.

zingally · 07/09/2021 13:10

YABU.

I also live in a block of flats (9 flats), albeit in a residential/suburban area in a large town. Our external door only has one, self-locking, door to the outside, then individual front doors. But I'd have no problem with there being a double lock.
You need to practice getting quicker with your keys, if that worries you. And have them in your hand as you approach. Your neighbours are under zero obligation to purposely reduce the security of the block because of your paranoia.

Sometimes my neighbours leave the front door propped open with a rock, for no apparent reason. I ALWAYS kick it out the way, so the door can properly close and lock. I'm of the view that their slight inconvenience of unlocking the door does not trump the security of the whole block.

DynamoKev · 07/09/2021 13:11

YABU

Original poster

Keke94LND · 07/09/2021 13:15

@LittleGwyneth

Surely if that was the case then it would be bonkers to break in through the front door too?

OP posts:

RavingAnnie · 07/09/2021 13:18

If your top lock is a normal Yale (or similar), those are extremely easy to open from the outside. As evidenced when I was locked out and my friend was easily able to open the door via the letterbox.

whynotwhatknot · 07/09/2021 13:20

Just to say ive never paid hundreds a year for insurancei currentl pay 11 pounds a month forcombined you really need to comapre prices

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 07/09/2021 13:21

@whynotwhatknot I agree contents insurance is probably the cheapest bill we have!

obviouslyncforthis · 07/09/2021 13:29

YABVVVVU and I'm glad I don't live in your building!

melj1213 · 07/09/2021 14:10

YABU

I live in a small block of flats (there's only 4 in thr block) and one of my neighbours never locked the front door and often actively disengaged the locks. My flat is the first one after you come in the main door so if someone did get into the building, my flat would be the first and easiest target. The main block door only has a Yale lock that is connected to the buzzer entry system but occasionally I will find that when I'm leaving for work the front door has either been left ajar or someone has disengaged the latch entirely. Every single time I leave the building I will re-engage the latch and make sure it is secure.

The neighbour who used to leave it unlocked doesn't do it any more, not since the night he got back at 3am on Sunday morning and couldn't get in. This was because he had purposely left the door unlocked so he didn't have to take his keys out with him, but in the meantime I had got home from work, locked the door behind me and then called the police when I was woken at 3am by hammering on the main door and an incoherent man talking drunken gibberish down the phone when I answered the buzzer that he kept pressing. As a single woman with a child I felt very unsafe letting the guy in, and so called the police. Fortunately as we are in the town centre there was a police car stationed round the corner and they arrived in minutes and took him to the station to sober up and spoke to him about the importance of home security.

Additionally, I have always had contents insurance for my flat - I think I pay about £6 a month through my bank for up to £10k coverage in case of fire/flood/theft. I live in a tiny 2 bed housing association flat, so I do not have anything of high value but if I had to replace everything at once because something happened to my flat then it adds up quickly even for just the basics - I wear a uniform to work but the base uniform is black trousers, black shoes and a black long sleeve top. I have 5 shirts (£5 each), three pairs of trousers (£10 each) and two pairs of cheap black trainers (£20 each). Even to just replace my work uniform would cost about £100, and all of those items are just basics I can pick up in the supermarket I work in. Add in clothes, pjs, underwear, shoes, books, decor, knick nacks, food, crockery, toiletries, make up, bedding, TV, tech etc and even if your flat is "furnished" your stuff can actually add up to a surprising value that most people couldn't afford to replace all at once.

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