If you are having problems with your neighbours, there are a number of things that you and we can do to try and resolve the situation.

Issues you may be experiencing may be affecting your ability to enjoy peace and quiet in your own home and feel safe and secure in the areas where you live. This is known as Anti-social Behaviour.

All Council tenants have tenancy conditions which prohibit them (and their families or guests) from causing anti social behaviour. In certain circumstances, the Council also has powers to take action against others who are not Council tenants.

Below is a list of the action that can be taken to try and resolve any issues you may have with your neighbours.

What you can do

• Try to deal with the problem yourself as a first step. Often problems arise because the other person is not aware that their behaviour is causing a nuisance.
• If this does not work, contact your local area housing office and report the problems you have been experiencing.
• You may be asked to keep a log of events which will form the basis of our investigations. In more serious cases you may be asked to give evidence in court.
• In all cases you should remain calm and not act in a way which causes provocation.
• If the problem is noise nuisance you should contact Environmental Health who will respond to your complaint.
• If you are in a situation where you are feeling threatened or in danger, call the Police immediately.

What we can do

The Tenancy Agreement sets out the way we expect our tenants to behave and in more serious cases provides the means for us to take legal action.

Acceptable Behaviour Contracts are agreements between the individual who is causing the nuisance, the Police and the Landlord. The case will be monitored and reviewed by the Police and Housing Officer for 6 months and if the problem persists, more serious measures can be taken such as:

• Anti Social Behaviour Orders-these are court orders which can be made against an individual, the individual members of a group or family in the case of serious cases of antisocial behaviour. The Order gives details of what the individual or groups of individuals must not do and if the Order is breached the penalty could be imprisonment or a fine.
• Demoting a secure tenancy to an introductory tenancy.
• Mediation-If a tenant is having an on going dispute with someone in the area and all attempts to resolve the problems have failed, we can arrange for a fully trained.
• Mediator to visit all parties. The Mediator will help all those involved with the dispute to identify the real issues and to agree a way forward.