I am suffering from anti-social behaviour, am I eligible for rehousing?
Our aim is always to try to resolve the problems caused by anti-social behaviour rather than moving people away from the problem and leaving the situation to continue.
There are many support plans we can put in place to make you feel safer in your home or make your home more secure. This will be outlined and agreed with yourself with your Housing Support Officer in the form of a structure action plan.
There are some cases where the circumstances and breach of tenancy is severe where re-housing may be an option. This is discussed with your Housing Support Officer where an investigation would be conducted on your individual circumstances.
Do I have to give my details when reporting anti social behaviour?
The Housing Act 1996 enables us to take some forms of legal action against tenants acting in a way which is likely to cause nuisance, annoyance or be a disturbance to others.
This means that we can make use of professional witnesses and use ’hearsay’ evidence, where people are too frightened to attend Court, and we can outline the likely affect the anti-social behaviour would have on other tenants and residents.
However, live evidence from the people who have actually seen or heard the anti-social behaviour is much stronger, and is more likely to lead to a successful outcome at court.
How long will it take for my case to be resolved?
Every case is different. Sometimes anti-social behaviour cases can be resolved very quickly, as often people will change their behaviour as soon as they become aware that it is causing a problem for other people, after receiving a warning letter, or a visit from one of our Housing Support Officers.
It is important that you help us by keeping to your side of the Action Plan that will drawn up by you and your Housing Support Officer, and by completing any ’Record of Anti-social Behaviour’ booklets that you are supplied with. Please be aware that without evidence, it is very difficult for us to progress a case, and your assistance in telling us what is happening in your area is important to us.
I have a problem with a noisy neighbour – what should I do?
If you have approached your neighbour about the problem and the noise continues, the simplest way to tell us about the problem is to phone your Housing Support Officer to discuss the problem and form an action plan with yourself
You may also wish to report the problem to Leeds City Councils Environmental Health Section who has responsibility for noise pollution under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
I have received a letter about anti-social behaviour – what should I do?
You should contact your Housing Support Officer immediately to confirm / rearrange your booked meeting to discuss the problem. They will advise you what should do to put things right, and what will happen if the alleged anti-social behaviour continues.
You should stop to think about the impact your actions or the actions of other household members are having on your neighbours.
How to be a considerate neighbour – some simple rules:
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Try to site noisy household equipment such as washing machines, dish washers, etc. away from partition walls or place them on a carpet or rubber mat to reduce vibration.
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Try to reduce the effect of noise from your TV and stereo by moving them away from your neighbour’s walls. If you live in a flat with a neighbour beneath you, raise your TV and stereo off the floor if possible.
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Try to always keep the volume of your TV, radio and music as low as possible, especially late at night. Set your hi if bass control at a low level – the bass beat can be particularly irritating.
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When doing DIY, try and make sure you carry out the noisiest jobs during the day. Keep the evening for quieter work such as painting and decorating.
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Consider mowing the lawn and using garden power tools at a reasonable time – not early morning or late evening when the noise could be most annoying.
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If you play a musical instrument, consider practising it at a reasonable time and not early in the morning or during the late evening or night when the noise could be most annoying.
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Try to carry out unavoidable noise activities in sociable hours which the National Society for Clean Air and Environmental Protection defines as being between 8.00 am and 7.00 pm weekdays & Saturday, and between 10.00 am and 5.00 pm Sundays.
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If you own a dog, train it not to bark unnecessarily. Never leave your dog alone for long periods – ask a friend to exercise it during your absence. In law a barking dog can be a noise nuisance and you could be prosecuted if you do nothing to stop it.
- If you are using taxis or minicabs early in the morning, or late at night, ask the driver to announce his arrival by knocking on your door or ‘phoning beforehand, rather than sounding the horn.
When can a tenant be evicted?
Under the terms of the Tenancy Agreement, tenants are responsible for their own behaviour, and for that of anyone either living with, or visiting them. If we have evidence that the tenant or other household members have breached their tenancy conditions, we can serve a legal notice on the tenant, and ultimately can ask the Court for permission to evict them.
The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 gave social landlords new powers to deal with nuisance tenants. Evicting people from their homes and making families homeless is now seen as a last resort after other options available to us, such as Injunctions and Anti-Social Behaviour Orders to encourage troublemakers to amend their behaviour have been used. This is because Injunctions and Anti-Social Behaviour Orders prohibit people from engaging in nuisance behaviour, whereas evicting anti-social tenants simply moves the problem on and leaves their behaviour unchecked.
In Court, a Judge has to consider whether it is reasonable to take someone’s home away from them. A Judge may decide that it is not reasonable to award a Possession Order, or to postpone the Possession Order on the condition that the tenant complies with their Tenancy Agreement from then on. However, if the person responsible for causing the anti-social behaviour holds an Introductory Tenancy (usually within the first year of them being an Leeds City Council tenant), the Judge must allow us to take possession of the person’s home if a breach of tenancy is proved.
What is an Acceptable Behaviour Contract
An Acceptable Behaviour Contract (ABC) is a voluntary written agreement between a young person, usually aged 10-17, their parent / guardian, ENEHL and West Yorkshire Police.
ABCs can be used where a young person has been found to have acted in a way which has caused harassment, alarm, nuisance or distress to others.
Anti-social behaviour that can be tackled by ABCs includes:
- Harassment of residents or passers-by
- Verbal abuse
- Vandalism
- Criminal damage
- Graffiti
- Noise nuisance
- Engaging in threatening behaviour in large groups
- Smoking / drinking alcohol whilst underage
- Throwing items at people / property
- Assault
This type of behaviour will not be tolerated in the ENEHL area , and by signing the contract the young person shows that they understand this and what types of behaviour they should not take part in. The ABC specifies the types of behaviour the young person promises not to take part in in the future.
What is an ASBO
ASBO stands for Anti-Social Behaviour Order. An ASBO is a legal order to prevent the most serious types of anti-social behaviour such as repeated incidents of damage to property and extreme forms of harassment or intimidation. Anyone subject to an ASBO who refuses to adhere to the conditions of the order can be arrested and eventually fined or imprisoned for up to five years.
What is an Injunction
An injunction is an Order by the Courts, usually to prevent someone from doing something but sometimes also to force them to do something positive, such as tidy their garden.
What is a demoted tenancy
A demoted tenancy is a one year probationary council tenancy.
Councils use demoted tenancies to take action against tenants who have been involved in anti-social behaviour.
You probably have a demoted tenancy if the court made an order to demote your secure tenancy, and less than a year has passed since then.
The council should have sent you information about your rights and letters from the Court should confirm how long your tenancy has been demoted for.
Check these, and if you're not sure whether your tenancy is still demoted, ask your council.
If you don't cause nuisance or break your tenancy agreement in other ways, you should automatically become a secure tenant again after 12 months.
Demoted tenants have some of the same rights as secure tenants however they can be evicted much more easily.
- If you are a demoted tenant you have some of the same rights as a secure tenant, however you should be aware that:
- Your ability to utilise the right to buy scheme is suspended until your tenancy becomes secure again
- You don't normally have the right to take in lodgers or to sublet you home (if you are interested in doing so you should contact your council to discuss this further)
- You cannot transfer or exchange your home while your tenancy is demoted