Warm weather changes how a building is used. Windows open, balconies come alive, and the bin store gets a good deal more noticeable. Here is how to enjoy the summer without falling out with your neighbours, or your lease.
Living in a block of flats in summer is mostly a pleasure. Longer evenings, shared gardens actually being used, neighbours you have not seen since October. But a few things do come up every year, and most of them come down to small habits rather than big rules.
None of what follows is meant to spoil anyone’s summer. It is simply the stuff that, in our experience, saves a lot of bother later.
Barbecues on balconies
The most common question we get in July, and the answer is often disappointing. Many leases restrict or ban barbecues on balconies, and where they do not, building rules or the buildings insurance may still take a dim view.
The reason is straightforward. Balconies sit directly beneath other people’s homes, often close to windows and cladding, with no easy way for the fire service to reach them. Charcoal barbecues in particular stay hot long after they look finished.
If you are not sure where your building stands, ask before you light anything. And if your block has a communal garden with a designated space, that is almost always the better spot.
Fire doors are not door stops
When corridors get stuffy, propping open the fire door to the stairwell feels like common sense. It is one of the few things in this article that genuinely matters.
A fire door only works closed. Held open, it turns the stairwell into a chimney and takes away the protected escape route the whole building depends on. It may also breach fire safety requirements for the block.
If ventilation in the communal areas is genuinely poor, that is worth raising. There is usually a safe, compliant way to improve airflow, and your managing agent can look at it.
Keep the escape routes clear
Summer brings more deliveries, more bikes, more paddling pools waiting to go in the car. It is easy for hallways to accumulate.
Communal corridors and stairwells need to stay clear. In an emergency, in smoke and in the dark, an unexpected obstacle in a hallway is a serious problem. Most blocks operate a simple rule of nothing left in the shared areas, and it is worth respecting even when it is inconvenient.
The bin store in hot weather
Bin stores are perfectly manageable in February and a good deal less so in July. A few habits make all the difference:
- Bag everything properly, particularly food waste, and close the lid
- Break down cardboard rather than wedging it in whole
- Never leave bags on the floor beside a full bin, which is what attracts pests
- If the bins are overflowing before collection day, tell your managing agent rather than assuming someone else has
Open windows and noise
The single biggest cause of neighbour friction in summer is not loud parties. It is ordinary life, heard through open windows.
Sound carries further and later when everyone’s windows are open. Music on a balcony that seems modest to you can be perfectly audible in four other flats. A quick word with a neighbour, kindly meant, usually resolves things far better than a formal complaint. Most people simply have not realised.
If noise becomes persistent and speaking to your neighbour has not helped, contact your managing agent. There is a proper process, and it starts with a conversation.
Visitors and parking
More visitors in summer means more pressure on parking. Allocated bays, visitor spaces and permit rules exist to stop a small number of cars making life difficult for everyone. Let guests know where they can and cannot park before they arrive, and it rarely becomes an issue.
Going away?
One quick job before you travel. Turn off your water at the stopcock. Escape of water is among the most common and most expensive claims in a block of flats, and a small leak in an empty flat can reach the homes below long before anyone notices. It takes a moment, and it is worth it.
It is also worth letting a neighbour or your managing agent know the flat will be empty, particularly if deliveries might pile up outside your door.
A well run block makes summer easier
Most of the things on this list are handled quietly by good management before residents ever notice them. Bins emptied and stores cleaned. Communal lighting and gardens maintained. Fire doors checked. Someone to call when something is not right.
Chelton Brown has looked after property in Northamptonshire since 1975. Our block management team manages more than fifty residential blocks and over seven hundred homes across the county, and every building has a named property manager who knows it.
If you live in a block we manage and something is not right this summer, tell us. That is what we are here for.
Questions about your building?
Speak to your property manager, or contact our block management team on 01604 603485. If your block could be better run, we also offer a free, no obligation management review.
