Housing

Conditions of Tenancy - Chapter 6

Antisocial Behaviour

We take Antisocial Behaviour, crime and the fear of crime very seriously. This section sets out clear guidelines on what we consider to be unreasonable and Antisocial Behaviour.

Under section 153 A (1) of the Housing Act 1996, Antisocial Behaviour is behaviour which can cause nuisance or annoyance (even if no complaint has been received) and which directly or indirectly relates to or affects the way we manage our housing.

Section 1 (1) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 defines Antisocial Behaviour as acting in an antisocial way that causes or is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to anyone else.

Antisocial Behaviour and your responsibilities

You, your friends and relatives, and any other person living in or visiting the property (including children) must not do the following.

6.1 Anything which causes or is likely to cause a nuisance to anyone in the local area. This includes, but is not limited to, allowing animals to cause a nuisance, repairing or abandoning vehicles, fly tipping, or groups meeting on the estate and causing a nuisance.

6.1a You, and any joint tenants, are responsible for your behaviour, and the behaviour of your children and anyone else living with you or visiting you, while they are in your home (including shared areas such as landings, stairways, foyers, lifts, courtyards, gardens and parking areas) or in the local area. The local area includes the whole of the neighbourhood or area the property is in, including privately owned or housing association properties, local shops and facilities serving the local area.

6.2 Anything which interferes with the peace, comfort or convenience of other people living in the local area.

6.2a We want you to enjoy living in your home and we recognise your right to enjoy living life as you choose, as long as this does not make other tenants' lives miserable. We ask that all tenants and their families are considerate towards their neighbours and help to create caring and happy communities and to deal with any problems. We will act quickly against tenants who ignore this tenancy agreement, and will work with other agencies to tackle nuisance caused by people who are not our tenants.

6.3 Harass anyone in the local area for any reason.

6.3a Harassment is defined as any unwanted behaviour directed at a person or group of people which is offensive. It is behaviour that interferes with the peace and comfort of individuals or groups, and which hurts, intimidates, humiliates, ridicules or undermines their confidence.

6.4 Harass, threaten to harass or use violence towards anyone in the local area.

6.4a We may be able to offer mediation to tenants as a way of sorting out conflicts and disagreements. You should contact your local housing office for details. We may not be able to sort out all of your concerns, but we will work with other agencies and give you advice about other services that can help you.

6.5 Harass, threaten to harass or use violence towards our employees, councillors, contractors or elected tenant representatives.

6.6 Use the property, any of its shared parts or any shed or garage you rent from us for anything immoral or illegal, including selling, storing or using any illegal drugs, or storing or handling stolen goods.

6.7 Use or threaten to use violence towards anyone living in the property, including your partner or members of your family.

6.8 Intentionally damage property. If you intentionally damage our property, we will claim compensation, using the courts if necessary. Intentional damage can either be damage caused to the inside of your home such as damage to doors or windows, or damage caused by vandalism or graffiti to the shared areas of the neighbourhood.

6.9 Install (or help or encourage anyone to install) a pirate radio mast or broadcasting equipment associated with illegal broadcasting, for whatever purpose.

6.10 Store, or allow to be stored, explosives or highly combustible materials, or any kind of firearm that is not licensed properly in line with the relevant laws in England. If in doubt, check with your local housing office.

6.11 If you, your family or visitors behave antisocially, we will take action to stop you. This may include:

Going to court to ask for you to be evicted
Applying for an injunction to prevent you from behaving antisocially; or
Applying for an Antisocial Behaviour order (ASBO) or other order to exclude you from the property or the local area (or both)

6.12 We may not find you a new home if you are evicted because of Antisocial Behaviour. This may also affect your ability to be rehoused by another social landlord.

Data protection

6.13 We are committed to making the community you live in safer for you and your family.

6.14 Under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, local authorities, the police authorities, health authorities and probation committees (among others) will work together in tackling crime and disorder issues in our communities.

6.15 To carry out our responsibilities under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, there may be times when we pass information about you to these organisations. Any exchange of information will be in line with data-protection legislation.

6.15a We will use the information we hold about your housing application to prevent and detect fraud against all public services.

What is Antisocial Behaviour?

6.16 The examples below will always be classed as Antisocial Behaviour.

Using or threatening violence
Racist behaviour, including racist literature, letters and verbal abuse
Harassment for any reason
Prostitution
Dealing in pornography
Criminal activity in properties
Drug and alcohol abuse, substance misuse or drug dealing
Verbal abuse and offensive gestures
Domestic violence
Damaging property, including cars and bikes
Dumping rubbish and furniture
Arson or attempted arson
Putting offensive materials through letter boxes
Malicious telephone calls
Writing and spraying graffiti
Storing or repairing any vehicles which are powered by petrol, diesel or paraffin in shared areas
Throwing things off balconies or out of windows
Breaking shared security, for example, allowing strangers into the building
Blocking shared areas
Playing ball games in areas where this is not allowed
Installing (or encouraging or helping anyone to install) pirate radio broadcasting equipment in or around a property, block or neighbourhood

6.17 The following is Antisocial Behaviour when it causes a nuisance.

Not controlling your children
Playing loud music
Banging and slamming doors
Playing ball games close to people's homes or buildings
Skateboarding, roller-skating and cycling on footpaths, balconies and shared areas
Being drunk in public
Allowing your dog to bark continuously
Not cleaning up after your dog in shared and public areas
Letting your dog roam estates
Not keeping pets under control
Causing a nuisance in lifts and shared areas, for example, going to the toilet or blocking chutes
Making unjustified complaints
Installing furnishings and fittings such as wooden laminate flooring where any failure to control noise pollution causes inconvenience and distress
Parking motor vehicles in a way that blocks pedestrian or vehicle access, or damages green space or other areas of the estate
Working on motor vehicles, other than servicing your own car or motorcycle
Riding, or allowing any member of your family or visitors to ride, motor vehicles off road on public areas or estate facilities

Breaking the tenancy conditions

6.18 If we believe that you have broken the tenancy conditions, we can use any of the following options to sort out the problem.

Serve a notice of seeking possession to end your tenancy
Apply to the court for a demoted tenancy order
Apply for an injunction against you to prevent the nuisance and to seize equipment causing the nuisance, such as hi-fi equipment or machinery
Apply for an Antisocial Behaviour order (ASBO) through the court system
Arrange an acceptable behaviour contract (ABC) with you
Work with the police and other enforcement agencies to prevent any crime being committed and use the measures above as well as any criminal proceedings that may be issued