From: "Ellis" 
Newsgroups: uk.finance
Subject: Re: LLD --- tenant wont lock front door
Date: Sun, 8 May 2005 01:13:02 +0100


 wrote in message 
news:1115452697.335540.129250@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> My tenant is mostly a decent tenant.
> But the front door only has a 5 lever mortice lock, and he won't use
> it.
> If I call, and he's out,  the door will be pulled-to, but not locked.
> He has a key, but doesn't bother despite being told.
>
> This is stressing me - it's a nice house and I'd hate to have it
> burgled or vandalised. I have the neighbours on standby in case they
> see any potential thieves walking in. I pop around every day & lock the
> door if he's out.
>
> He is on a periodic tenancy.
> If he won't comply with the security requirement, can I instruct him to
> leave immediately, or am I tied to 2 months+ notice?
>
> Thanks
> Tony
>
> PS  this began a month ago. Up to then he was using the yale lock only,
> but someone broke it away from the timber frame, The frame is a bit
> weak at that position to replace the yale lock, and a yale lock isn't
> adequate anyway, so I tidied the timberwork, and told him (again) to
> use the 5 lever.

In this neck of the woods landlords are licensed by the local authority and 
have to meet stringent regulations and inspections.  When I moved in to my 
present flat the first thing I noticed was that the mortice locks were 
missing on both the front and back doors and there were only yale locks.

I immediately brought this to the attention of the landlord and asked 
permission to put mortice locks on the doors. He told me this was not 
possible because he had been instructed to take them off by the council as 
they "constitute a fire hazard." Apparently, if you wake up with the house 
on fire and full of smoke there is a good chance you wont find the key to a 
mortice lock and so you cannot escape.

Landlords are now required to fit yale type locks (of the type described by 
Ronald Raygun in his post above) as they can be opened from the inside 
without a key.

I dont condone what your tenant is doing but you could be on thin ice if you 
tell a court you have insisted that he uses a five lever mortice lock. Best 
to get the kind of yale lock that RR has referred to and take it from there.

Ellis