environmental.health
@thanet.gov.uk 

Phone:

01843 577580

Fax:

01843 290906

Burglar Alarms

Faulty burglar alarms can cause serious noise problems. If you have an alarm on your property, it is a good idea to follow this advice:

• buy a good alarm and have it serviced regularly
• make sure the alarm stops after 20 minutes
• install the alarm as per instructions, or if possible have a specialist install it for you
• test the alarm from time to time
• provide the Police and Environmental Health department with details of at least 2 people who can be contacted in the event of the alarm misfiring. Download a keyholder form.

Remember that if you are relying on your neighbours to react to the alarm when it goes off, make sure you do not annoy them with too many false alarms.

If you are disturbed by a continually ringing alarm, the Council can silence it. You must identify the premises on which the alarm is sounding if you can. If it is on a neighbour's property, ask around to see if anyone knows where they might be. Check to see if there is a number on the alarm box as sometimes the alarm company may have a service contract.

If the owner cannot be contacted and the alarm continues to sound after 20 minutes then an Officer will visit your premises to assess whether the alarm is causing a statutory nuisance. If a keyholder cannot be contacted and the alarm is judged to be causing a statutory nuisance then the Officer will obtain a Magistrates Warrant to enter the premises and silence or re-set the alarm.

If you are experiencing a noise nuisance from a burglar alarm then please contact a member of Environmental Health by filling in our request for service form and returning it to us, or by telephone on 01843 577580.