What is Neighbour Nuisance / Anti-social behaviour?
TENANT INFORMATION
To make sure that your home and environment is a pleasant place to live, the tenancy conditions for your home state that you, your family members and visitors must behave reasonably and should not cause a nuisance or annoyance to other people.
Therefore……..
You are responsible for your behaviour at all times – in your home and your neighbourhood.
You are also responsible for the behaviour of your family, other people living in your home and anyone visiting your home.
You are breaking your tenancy conditions if you create a nuisance to your neighbours, or other people living in your neighbourhood. If you are a joint tenant you are responsible for the actions of the other tenants.
Problems caused by nuisance and disputes are often called ‘anti-social behaviour’.
We aim to prevent anti-social behaviour and we rely on you to help us.
We ask you not to cause any kind of nuisance to others and to let us know if someone in your neighbourhood is causing a nuisance.
If you feel that you are a victim of anti-social behaviour or harassment please contact us as soon as you can and let us know.
For any serious incident such as assault, threatening behaviour, racial or sexual harassment you should initially report the incident to the police.
What is Anti-Social Behaviour?
Anti-social behaviour covers a wide range of types of behaviour. It should be noted that not all annoying behaviour is classed as anti-social.
We normally class the following behaviours as anti-social:
- Excessive ongoing and/or unreasonable noise
- Rowdy or threatening behaviour
- Intimidation and harassment
- Violence against people or property
- Criminal damage
- Vandalism or graffiti
- Drug Dealing
- Hate behaviours targeted at people who are perceived as different on grounds of race, colour, sexuality or disability
- Dog fouling
We do NOT class the following behaviours as anti-social:
- Noise from children playing
- Personal differences
- Family disputes
- Overgrown gardens
- Noises caused through normal living, such as flushing toilets and closing doors
Please note that these lists are NOT exhaustive.
What can you do?
You may be able to resolve personal disputes and everyday nuisance problems by talking to your neighbour. Most people can be reasonable if approached in person. Your neighbour may not be aware that they are causing a problem.
When speaking to your neighbour, remember to:
- Be calm and friendly and show you’re happy to hear their point of view.
- Listen to what your neighbour says.
- Try not to interrupt the other person when they’re talking.
- Stay in control and don’t shout.
- Don’t be abusive or aggressive.
- Politely remove yourself from the situation if you feel your neighbour is becoming unreasonable.
What will we do?
Once a complaint is received, we will assess the complaint. Most complaints arise out of differences of opinion about how people should lead their lives but as long as there is no breach of the tenancy conditions, we will not step in.
We will however, provide you with information and assistance about other options that can help you deal with the situation yourself.
Where a breach of tenancy conditions IS suspected, we will contact the tenant being complained about (we will not tell them who complained). Where the complaint is of a minor nature such as a one-off party being held, we will explain the terms of the tenancy agreement. Often this resolves the matter, with the person genuinely not realising that nuisance has occurred.
Where the breach is more severe or persistent, we will take a much more robust approach – we will of course investigate all facts from each party before determining our course of action. We may not be able to discuss what we do directly with you, however, we will maintain regular contact with the complainant throughout the process.
If you need any further information regarding anti-social behaviour, please contact us.