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?

What would you have done with your saved 15 seconds?
Just double lock it

What kind of lock takes 10-15 seconds to open? Yabu

I used to have this exact problem in my old flat. The GF tenant always wanted it double locked to protect their possessions even though there was a garden route into their property that was more likely a burglary risk than the front door.

My life (and yours) in a fire is worth a lot more than somebody's possessions. It is illegal to double-lock the front door as it is a fire door. All fire doors must be openable without a key. The door also needs to meet certain requirements arma.org.uk/assets/front/files/Firesafetyandyourlegaldutyasaleaseholder.pdf

www.mytipsandadvice.co.uk/2008-02/can-fire-doors-be-locked-UKTAHSAR_EU061006

If the other tenants want to protect their possessions then they should really implement other preventative measures that do not compromise everybody else's safety.

Additionally no possessions should be left in the communal corridor as this poses a fire risk and trip hazard in the event of a fire.

If you’re in the kind of area where you are that worried about 15 seconds extra resulting in you getting mugged then the door needs to be double locked.

If anyone is dithering over contents insurance, it’d be worth checking out Sainsbury’s. I’ve been with them a couple of years and it’s about £6/month (no family heirlooms) and I got £30 vouchers the first year too. It’s the insurance you never WANT to have to use…

Obviously YABU - and living on the ground floor, you’re far more at risk from flood than the other tenants (eg THEIR pipes going)…

I know you say you could nip into H&M and buy a new top, but if there’s a flood you might prefer a bikini as I can’t imagine a sodden mattress would be much fun to sleep on…

Many content insurance plans will also cover emergency hotel accommodations.

I’m very auld so I can’t remember WHEN, but I’ve definitely lived somewhere where I had to approach the door with a key in each hand and perform a ninja move to open both locks simultaneously. I have two hands though so speak from a place of privilege.

I disagree with all the people saying not double-locking will affect contents insurance. The rules regarding locks for the contents insurance will apply to the the door of the individual flat only.

The insurance company knows that the person being insured has no control over what kind of locks are installed on a communal door, and whether there neighbours will lock that door properly.

Also, it's fine to not have contents insurance. I could afford to replace everything in my flat. I only have it because it enables me to get legal expenses cover, so I see it as protecting me against unquantifiable losses from a lawsuit.

@FrankOrTheBeans

I used to have this exact problem in my old flat. The GF tenant always wanted it double locked to protect their possessions even though there was a garden route into their property that was more likely a burglary risk than the front door.

My life (and yours) in a fire is worth a lot more than somebody's possessions. It is illegal to double-lock the front door as it is a fire door. All fire doors must be openable without a key. The door also needs to meet certain requirements arma.org.uk/assets/front/files/Firesafetyandyourlegaldutyasaleaseholder.pdf

www.mytipsandadvice.co.uk/2008-02/can-fire-doors-be-locked-UKTAHSAR_EU061006

If the other tenants want to protect their possessions then they should really implement other preventative measures that do not compromise everybody else's safety.

Additionally no possessions should be left in the communal corridor as this poses a fire risk and trip hazard in the event of a fire.

Doors to the outside are not fire doors. Those regulations are for the internal doors to the flats because they form fire compartments. She did already say that the external door can be opened from the inside without a key

@TenThousandSpoons

YABU and I bet your neighbours are really annoyed that you never double lock the front door.

Yep. I have neighbours that don't double lock. It's so irritating. YABU.