Dilemma

[JeffW]

I rent a flat in a 2 flat house. There is a shared front door to the house, and separate locakable doors for both flats. The other guy who lives in the house, Neil, is in the habit of leaving the front door unlocked when he goes out, as he can't be bothered having to unlock the door when he returns. I have asked Neil if he can stop doing this, for security reasons, but he is a bit of a Neanderthal, and isn't interested in my concerns

I don't want to lock Neil out, as I could do without the conflict, but I'm concerned that if the house gets burgled because the front door is left unlocked, then I would be liable for any resulting thefts. If I'm last out, and lock my flat, but not the front door, and there's a break-in, would I be liable for damages?

Thanks in advance.

Regards

Jeff

[MrShed]

Quite probably yes.

[Joa]

Ask the landlord to install the deadlock (is this the correct name for a lock that locks the door automatically?) or you can do it yourself, but keep the old lock and put it back when your tenancy expires. Neil will soon learn to carry the key!

[JeffW]

We have a deadlock. On one occasion, in the middle of December, Neil left the door ajar when he went out (as you do) and my room began to get cold, so I closed the door, unwittingly locking Neil out. When Neil returned, he started kicking violently at the door!

Jeff

Originally Posted by Joa

Ask the landlord to install the deadlock (is this the correct name for a lock that locks the door automatically?) or you can do it yourself, but keep the old lock and put it back when your tenancy expires. Neil will soon learn to carry the key!