A separate regime for audible alarms
An alarm that keeps sounding after the owner has left for the airport is a neighbourhood problem as much as a security one. This article summarises GOV.UK guidance for councils on noise from intruder alarms, which states that it applies to England and was last updated on 21 December 2017, together with the text of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 and the Environmental Protection Act 1990 as published on legislation.gov.uk. The alarm provisions of the 2005 Act extend to England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate arrangements that are outside the scope of this article, which is general information and not legal advice.
Alarm noise as a statutory nuisance (England and Wales)
Section 79(1)(g) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 lists noise emitted from premises so as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance as a statutory nuisance. The legislation carries separate versions for England and Wales and for Scotland. GOV.UK guidance for England says councils must look into complaints about noise that may amount to a statutory nuisance and must serve an abatement notice where one exists or is anticipated.
For alarms specifically, the guidance says councils can issue an abatement notice, which they must do if an alarm is causing a statutory nuisance, and a warning notice for noise between 11pm and 7am. The guidance presents these notices and the alarm notification area scheme described below as separate tools.
Alarm notification areas (England and Wales)
Section 69 of the 2005 Act allows a local authority to designate all or part of its area as an alarm notification area. The authority must publish a proposal in a local newspaper, allow at least 28 days for representations, consider them and publish its decision, which takes effect at least 28 days after notification. Legislation.gov.uk records that section 69 came into force on 6 April 2006 in England and on 15 March 2007 in Wales. Section 70 deals with withdrawing a designation. Designation is optional: the section says a local authority “may” designate.
Once an area is designated, section 71 requires the responsible person for premises with an installed audible intruder alarm to nominate a key-holder and to notify the council in writing of the key-holder’s name, address and telephone number. Failing to do so is an offence punishable on summary conviction by a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale, which GOV.UK guidance gives as up to £1,000.
Section 72 sets the timing. The nomination must be made within 28 days of the designation taking effect, where the alarm already existed, or of the installation being completed. A replacement must be nominated within 28 days of the responsible person learning that a key-holder no longer meets the requirements.
Fixed penalties (England and Wales)
Sections 73 and 74 allow an authorised officer to offer a fixed penalty as an alternative to prosecution for the key-holder offence. No proceedings can begin until 14 days after the notice is given. The amount is whatever the local authority specifies for its area or, if none is specified, £75. GOV.UK guidance says the amount is between £50 and £80.
Who can act as a key-holder (England and Wales)
Section 72 and the GOV.UK guidance set out the conditions. A key-holder must:
- hold keys that give access to the alarm controls;
- live or work near the premises;
- know how to silence the alarm; and
- have agreed to act.
For residential premises, the key-holder must be a person who is not the occupier or a key-holding company, which section 72 describes as a business whose activities include key-holding and which operates around the clock. For non-residential premises, the owner or occupier, a representative or a key-holding company can act.
Entry to silence an alarm (England and Wales)
Section 77 gives an authorised council officer a power of entry to silence an audible intruder alarm when three conditions are met. The alarm must have sounded continuously for more than 20 minutes, or intermittently for more than an hour. The sound must be likely to give people living or working nearby reasonable cause for annoyance. In a designated alarm notification area, reasonable steps must also have been taken to get the nominated key-holder to silence it.
The section says an officer may not enter by force and must show evidence of authority on request. GOV.UK guidance adds that a warrant is needed if force is required.
Practical points for alarm owners (England and Wales)
Owners can reduce the chance of a call-out by keeping key-holder details current and by making sure the nominated person can reach the property quickly. Repeated false triggers are a separate problem with their own causes, covered in this site’s root-cause checklist for repeated false alerts. How police treat unverified alarms is a different question from council noise powers and is explained in the article on unverified alarm response.
Common questions
Can a council break in to silence an alarm in England or Wales? Section 77 excludes entry by force, and GOV.UK guidance says a warrant is needed if force is required.
Does every council operate an alarm notification area? No. Section 69 makes designation a choice for each authority, and the notices are published locally and sent to premises in the area.
Who receives the fixed penalty notice? The offence under section 71 concerns the responsible person for the premises, so the notice is directed at the person who failed to notify key-holder details.
The bottom line
In England and Wales, a stuck or persistent burglar alarm can be dealt with as a statutory noise nuisance and, in areas a council has designated, through key-holder registration backed by fixed penalties of £75 by default. Officers can enter without force after 20 minutes of continuous sounding or an hour of intermittent sounding, once reasonable steps to reach a key-holder have been taken. Owners in a designated area should register a suitable key-holder within 28 days.
Sources
- GOV.UK, “Noise nuisances: how councils deal with complaints”
- legislation.gov.uk, “Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, section 69 (Designation of alarm notification areas)”
- legislation.gov.uk, “Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, section 70 (Withdrawal of designation)”
- legislation.gov.uk, “Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, section 71 (Notification of nominated key-holders)”
- legislation.gov.uk, “Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, section 72 (Nomination of key-holders)”
- legislation.gov.uk, “Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, section 73 (Fixed penalty notices)”
- legislation.gov.uk, “Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, section 74 (Amount of fixed penalty)”
- legislation.gov.uk, “Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, section 77 (Power of entry)”
- legislation.gov.uk, “Environmental Protection Act 1990, section 79 (Statutory nuisances and inspections therefor)”