Alarms

The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 becomes law on 1 April 2012 and will extend our existing powers under the Noise Act 1996.

With the introduction of the act we will have additional powers to deal with noisy alarms.

We will be able to silence the alarm, and recover the costs from the alarm owner, if:

it has been sounding for more than 20 minutes continuously or intermittently for more than one hour
it is causing reasonable annoyance to those living or working nearby
a keyholder for the property can't be contacted.

We'll also be able to create Alarm Notification Areas where owners of alarms must, by law, register keyholder information.

If complaints are received about alarms in these areas, and keyholder details are not available, then the owner can be fined. You can register your details, or a key holder's details with us for free.

This means we can contact you or your key holder if your alarm goes off and we receive a complaint about it. All key holders must be able to be contacted by phone, live within 20 minutes travel of the property and know how the alarm system works. You should also tell us if your details change. Intruder alarms are ideal for protecting your home from burglaries but they can be irritating to others if they go off for no apparent reason and aren't quickly switched off.

This also applies to car and smoke alarms.

If you're disturbed by a noisy alarm, call us on 028 9037 3006. We can check to see if we have any details about the property and, if we do, we'll contact the key holder and ask them to sort the problem out.

If we don't have any key holder information, we may call an engineer or a locksmith to help us silence the alarm.

If you are the alarm owner, you could end up being billed for this cost, whether it's a private home or a commercial building.

Register key holder details online

You can register your details, or a key holder's details with us for free.

This means we can contact you or your key holder if your alarm goes off and we receive a complaint about it. All key holders must be able to be contacted by phone, live within 20 minutes travel of the property and know how the alarm system works. You should also tell us if your details change.

	Register key holder details

Before you register, please read the terms and conditions for online services as well as our privacy statement for online services.

You can also download a registration form and send it by post to:

Noise Control
Cecil Ward Building
4-10 Linenhall Street
Belfast
BT2 8BP

Download a key holder registration form (Word - 116KB)

Help and advice

You can make sure your neighbours aren't disturbed by a ringing alarm by following these tips.

Fit your alarm with a cut-out device to stop it ringing after 20 minutes. This means the device will not sound until it has been manually reset and the cause investigated.

Get your alarm checked regularly by a professional.

Register your key holder details with us to make sure we can contact you if your alarm goes off and we receive a complaint about it.
read the Code of Practice for Audible Intruder Alarms issued by the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland (PDF - 79KB)