One of my BTLs has a young family as tenants. Few days back a neighbour 2 doors up (i.e. there's a house between them and my property, all terraced) reported hearing a young child in distress with the noise coming from my property. Police came out, knocked at door, listened through letterbox, didn't hear anything so forced entry in case there was a child and it had gone quiet for whatever reason.
Thankfully no child had been left unattended, there was no one in. So where was the noise coming from? The house in the middle were dog sitting for a friend! It was concluded it must have been the dog whining that they heard.
The (wooden) door is beyond repair, ruined down the opening edge. The police arranged for a locksmith to attend to make it secure. All they've done is put a not very robust hasp & staple on the inside and outside with padlocks provided to the tenant. So, 'secure' to an extent but not great.
Whilst the police have funded the emergency call out for the locksmith, I'm led to believe the cost to replace the door will fall to me because, although it was a false alarm, the police acted in good faith on the information provided. Whilst I've not spoken to the police, the landlord forum I'm on advises this is usually the way it pans out. Apparently you can sometimes submit a form requesting reimbursement but the chances of it being honoured are minimal (due to police acting in good faith, wasn't the wrong address etc.)
I know you'll be thinking 'insurance claim so what's the problem?' and to an extent that's true. However it's a bitter pill to swallow whether I go insurance route or self fund the repair, especially as the house was empty! Given those reporting the noise were 2 doors up, you think the police might also have quickly checked the house in the middle (where the dog was) prior to knocking doors in, although I appreciate time is of the essence.
One quote receive so far, £2k, which seems excessive to me. They said 'but it'll be an insurance job?' so that's maybe why they've quoted higher.
Thankfully no child had been left unattended, there was no one in. So where was the noise coming from? The house in the middle were dog sitting for a friend! It was concluded it must have been the dog whining that they heard.
The (wooden) door is beyond repair, ruined down the opening edge. The police arranged for a locksmith to attend to make it secure. All they've done is put a not very robust hasp & staple on the inside and outside with padlocks provided to the tenant. So, 'secure' to an extent but not great.
Whilst the police have funded the emergency call out for the locksmith, I'm led to believe the cost to replace the door will fall to me because, although it was a false alarm, the police acted in good faith on the information provided. Whilst I've not spoken to the police, the landlord forum I'm on advises this is usually the way it pans out. Apparently you can sometimes submit a form requesting reimbursement but the chances of it being honoured are minimal (due to police acting in good faith, wasn't the wrong address etc.)
I know you'll be thinking 'insurance claim so what's the problem?' and to an extent that's true. However it's a bitter pill to swallow whether I go insurance route or self fund the repair, especially as the house was empty! Given those reporting the noise were 2 doors up, you think the police might also have quickly checked the house in the middle (where the dog was) prior to knocking doors in, although I appreciate time is of the essence.
One quote receive so far, £2k, which seems excessive to me. They said 'but it'll be an insurance job?' so that's maybe why they've quoted higher.