Neighbour's car alarm or house alarm keeps going off: what can you do?
Updated: 4 days ago
A car alarm that goes off in the middle of the night, stops after a minute and starts again five minutes later. Or a burglar alarm that blares while the neighbours have just left on holiday. Few sounds are as piercing, and few are as hard to hear from inside the owner's home. In this article, you’ll find out why an alarm often goes off for no reason, what you can ask for and how to raise it calmly.
Why an alarm keeps going off
An alarm should only sound when something is actually wrong. If it keeps happening, there is usually a technical cause the owner is not aware of:
An over-sensitive shock sensor. Strong wind, a passing lorry or a cat on the bonnet is enough.
A weak battery or a loose sensor. Many car alarms trigger when the voltage drops or a contact is loose.
A house alarm that has not been serviced. A motion detector that sees a spider or a curtain, or an old battery.
Nobody home. A car alarm is hard to hear indoors, and a house alarm goes off precisely when the occupants are away, so the owner rarely knows how often and how long it happens.
Raise it kindly
Assume your neighbours do not know. Say what you hear, when and for how long, and make clear that you have nothing against the alarm itself:
"Your car alarm went off several times in a row around three o'clock last night. I don't think you can hear it indoors, but in our bedroom it is really loud. Would you be able to have it checked?"
Offer to text them the moment it goes off, so they see for themselves when it happens. Never touch the car or the alarm yourself, not even to switch it off.
What can you ask for and agree?
Ask for something specific and realistic:
Have it checked. A garage or installer can adjust the sensitivity, check battery and sensors and often finds the cause.
A shorter siren. Many alarms can be set so that the siren stops by itself after a few minutes.
A phone number for emergencies. To reach the owner if the alarm goes off while they are away.
A key-holder nearby. A relative or neighbour who can switch the alarm off during a holiday.
A fixed test date. For a house alarm: a service once a year, and a message before a test.
What do the rules say?
In England and Wales, the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 lets a council enter premises to silence an intruder alarm that has been sounding continuously for more than 20 minutes or intermittently for more than an hour, and recover the cost from the person responsible. In an alarm notification area, the occupier must nominate a key-holder. Vehicles are not covered by these rules. Noise from a vehicle in the street, or from a home, can however be a statutory nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 if it unreasonably and substantially interferes with your use of your home, for example a car alarm that goes off night after night. This article is general information, not legal advice.
Keep a record of what you hear
Each time, note the date, start and end time, which alarm it is and whether it was continuous or kept restarting. Add whether there seemed to be a trigger, such as a storm, and whether the owner was reachable. Note quiet periods too. With such a record you can calmly show later what is going on and whether an agreement helped.
In practice
Councils spell out the thresholds. North Yorkshire Council, for example, explains that it can act when an intruder alarm has been sounding continuously for more than 20 minutes or intermittently for more than an hour, that it usually only disconnects the external box and recovers the cost from the occupier, and that a vehicle alarm that sounds frequently or for long periods can be a statutory nuisance (source: North Yorkshire Council). It also advises owners to nominate key-holders and to set the automatic cut-out to 20 minutes at most: exactly the things you can ask your neighbour for.
If you can't sort it out together
Is the alarm going on and on with the owner unreachable? Contact your council's environmental health team or the police on 101. They can try to reach the owner or a key-holder. If you see or hear an actual break-in, call 999.
Send a second, clear letter. Refer to your earlier conversation and give examples from your log.
Try community mediation. A neutral mediator helps you reach an agreement.
Do your neighbours rent, or do you live in a block of flats? Ask the landlord or managing agent to help.
Help with the first message
With the CalmNotes pack on an alarm that keeps going off you get editable sample messages to raise a car alarm or house alarm calmly, with follow-up messages if nothing changes and a log to keep track of what you hear. You will find more tips on the page alarm that keeps going off.
Choose a suitable next step
Free incident diary — Record incidents, contact and agreements.
Prepare your records and request for help — Organise your information and prepare a request for help.
Find support — Find out who may be able to help with your situation.
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