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

[patsy999]

Does anyone know if the council are in the wrong here. I have a keysafe for the carers, which i was given permission for when i moved in 6 years ago.
Next door keeps complaining that it makes a noise and they have written to me asking for it to be moved round the back.
The back way isnt very safe in the winter as there is a very dim light round there, but the councils answer to that was the carers can use the torch on their phones.
I cant get the new keysafe fitted till fri the 2nd, so the carers cant use the keysafe till then.
Its a block of flats, with a communal back and front door.

Do your carers come in pairs and they are chatting/noisy and that is the issue not the actual key safe?

How miserable must you be to complain about this?!
I'm sure the OP would choose to be carer and keysafe free if she could!
How many times per day do they come, OP?

Good point.

Does seem ridiculous if the key safe is rarely used anyway, thankfully this means it's unlikely the carers will have to travel around the back much? Will it be more secure round the back? The fact the front was smashed is a bit worrying.

Your neighbours are idiots.

Ignore the letter.

The council can’t force you to pay for a new key safe and it’s instalment.

The carers don’t even use it regularly?! Just ask them to be mindful of noise on the odd rare occasion they do use it.

If the council want to move or replace your safe then they need to cover the costs themselves.

How noisy can a key safe be and how knobbish to complain about it!

Can you clarify with the neighbours what the actual complaint is before changing anything.

Could it be the metal on metal noise but surely it's only a couple times a day so can't see this being a massive issue.

Could be noisy nurses chatting but again, it's only a couple times a day.

Suggest to the council you'd be happy to move the key safe once they've added better lighting to the back entrance to ensure the safety of visitors as surely they wouldn't want anyone to get hurt and sue them.

Who owns the properties involved?

Its certainly unreasonable to expect you to pay for it - I would be appealing it on that basis alone.

I would say the old type - push buttons hard then click the cover open and get keys out before shutting them back in - are noisy WHEN USED when I was at MIL they didn't bother ringing door bell as she was def and pretty immobile and would try to get up so instruction was straight in - when I stopped over I had enough warning to get covering on and slippers on and get kettle on, before they got up the stairs. The noise transfers on the wall and it could well be people above that have issue. The issue may also be the other box rather than yours.

I always think they should be out of sight as a deterrent and as council flats they should have facility for that that doesn't involve having to go down unkempt alleyways that are poorly lit ie with a bloody torch

Keysafe as don't make a noise what on earth is everybody on about?

I have 2 care calls a day. One carer.
I tried explaining all this to the guy from the council, but he wouldnt take it into consideration that a dark, dimly lit alley way is not safe, for young women on ther own at night to go through.
His answer was that they could use the torch on there phones.

I would speak to the care co ordinator and express your concerns OP. It's up to them to decide if going around the back is a safe route for their staff. If they deem it's not the council will have to rethink. Perhaps they could replace the key safe 'like for like', a newer one may be quieter?

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

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.

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....

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)

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.

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.

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

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

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 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.

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.

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.