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Site updated:

17 March 2010

Housing - In N. Ireland

Anti-social behaviour in housing

This information applies to England, Wales and Northern Ireland



What is anti-social behaviour

There is no precise definition of anti-social behaviour in housing. Broadly, it is acting in a way that causes or is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress. To be anti-social behaviour, the behaviour must be persistent.

There may be a fine line between anti-social behaviour and disputes between neighbours over relatively minor inconveniences, although these may, if persistent, become anti-social behaviour. Anti-social behaviour can include:

  • intimidation of neighbours and others through threats or actual violence
  • harassment, including racial harassment
  • verbal abuse
  • homophobic behaviour
  • systematic bullying of children in public recreation grounds, on the way to school or even on school grounds, if normal school disciplinary procedures do not stop the behaviour
  • abusive behaviour aimed at causing distress or fear to certain people, for example, elderly or disabled people
  • noise
  • dumping rubbish
  • animal nuisance, including dog fouling
  • vandalism, property damage and graffiti.

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What can be done about anti-social behaviour

If you want to take action about anti-social behaviour you should first try and establish who is responsible for the behaviour. It is also important to establish whether the behaviour is deliberate or unintentional.

What you do will depend on the type of behaviour you are complaining about and on the result you want. You may, for example, want one or more of the following:-

  • to have the anti-social behaviour stopped
  • to get compensation for any damage, loss or injury suffered
  • to get an apology
  • to be re-housed elsewhere
  • the people responsible for the behaviour to be moved or evicted.

To deal with anti-social behaviour you can do one or more of the following:

If you want to take action about anti-social behaviour you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on (New window) nearest CAB.

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Taking action yourself

If you want to take action about anti-social behaviour you can:

  • contact the tenants’ association where you live (if there is one), particularly over behaviour that may also be affecting other people
  • seek mediation (see below)
  • start a criminal prosecution in court, which could lead to the perpetrator being fined or imprisoned
  • take civil court action to claim compensation and/or apply for an order to stop the perpetrator continuing with their behaviour.

If you are considering taking court action you will need the help of an experienced adviser, for example, a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on (New window) nearest CAB.

Mediation

If you just want the behaviour to stop and do not wish to take legal action, you could consider a mediation scheme. Mediation is a process in which a neutral third party helps two or more people in dispute to seek a mutually acceptable solution informally. Community mediation services deal with disputes between neighbours and in the community, including noise, children, pets, parking and burglaries. Mediation is usually free.

Mediation is an appropriate course of action if both parties are willing to go through with it. Mediation can take the form of direct, ‘round the table’ discussion, where the parties in dispute meet on neutral ground. If they are unwilling to meet, the mediators will act as intermediaries, conveying messages between each of the parties.

To search for a mediator in your area who could help, visit the Directory of UK Mediation on the ADRNow website at: (New window) www.adrnow.org.uk.

Mediation Network (Northern Ireland)

The Mediation Network is free and confidential. It can put neighbours in touch with a trained mediator in their area. The mediator's role is to encourage each party to talk freely, explain their point of view, find common ground and come up with an agreed way forward.

The address of the Mediation Network is:

83 University Street
Belfast
BT7 1HP
Tel: 028 9043 8614
Fax: 028 9031 4430
Email: info@mediationnorthernireland.org.uk
Website: (New window) www.mediationnorthernireland.org.uk

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What the landlord can do

You can ask your landlord to take action about anti-social behaviour. You should find out whether the landlord has a policy and procedures for dealing with anti-social behaviour. Local authority landlords must have anti-social behaviour policies in place. In England and Wales, this also applies to housing association landlords.

Any landlord can take action against anti-social behaviour, although it is more likely that local authorities and housing associations will be willing to do so. Remember that landlords can choose whether or not to take action, but do not have to do so.

A landlord could:

  • ask the police or the local authority to take action - see under heading What the police can do or see under heading What the local authority can do
  • go to court to get the person behaving in an anti-social way evicted, if they are a tenant or leaseholder
  • apply to court for an anti-social behaviour order, if the landlord is a local authority or housing association
  • rehouse the victim, or the person behaving in an anti-social way. This is very unlikely unless the landlord is a local authority or a registered social landlord.

Local authority landlords have some additional options. They can:

  • extend the period of an introductory tenancy
  • apply for a court order to suspend a tenant's right to buy
  • refuse to allow a tenant to exchange with another tenant.

Local authority and registered social landlords can also:

  • apply for a court order to 'demote' someone's tenancy. This will make it easier for the landlord to evict a tenant whose behaviour does not improve
  • in England, change someone's tenancy to a 'family intervention tenancy'. This means that the tenant and their family must agree to get professional help and support to change their behaviour. If their behaviour doesn't improve or they don't use the services offered, they can be evicted.

The person you are complaining about may have a tenancy agreement which forbids certain types of behaviour, for example, harassment, drug dealing or noise. If they break any of these conditions, this could lead to the person being evicted.

If you want to complain about a local authority or housing association tenant, you will normally be able to do this through a housing officer. If they are not a local authority or housing association tenant, you may have to contact their landlord or the landlord's agent.

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What the local authority can do

As a person who is suffering anti-social behaviour you can ask the local authority to deal with it, regardless of whether you are a local authority tenant or not. The local authority can:

  • apply to a court for an order to stop or prevent someone's violent anti-social behaviour in its area
  • apply to a court for an order to stop someone causing a public nuisance. This includes drug-dealing
  • apply to court for an order to close premises where there is ongoing disorder or nuisance
  • take action to stop noise, nuisance and threats to health
  • take action to evict the person responsible for the behaviour, if they are a local authority tenant
  • offer the victim alternative accommodation
  • prosecute where the behaviour is a criminal offence
  • in England and Wales, take over management of a property where there are particularly serious anti-social behaviour problems.

If you are experiencing unfair treatment, including harassment or intimidation, because of your race, sex, disability, sexuality or religion, the local authority has a legal responsibility to protect you.

If you want to ask the local authority to take action about anti-social behaviour, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on (New window) nearest CAB.

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What the police can do

The police can take action about any anti-social behaviour which is a criminal offence and can prosecute someone who has:

  • attacked another person, causing physical and/or psychological damage
  • wilfully damaged someone else’s property
  • behaved in a threatening or abusive way in order to intimidate or frighten or cause harassment, alarm or distress intentionally, for example, by stalking you or writing ant-gay slogans on the wall outside your home
  • incited racial hatred or violence by, for example, distributing racist leaflets.

In England and Wales, the police can also get a court order to close down:

  • properties which have been taken over by drug dealers, or
  • premises which are causing disruption to residents because of some other serious disorder or nuisance problem.

You should bear in mind that the police have discretion whether or not to prosecute someone.

The police can issue on the spot fines (penalty notices) for some types of anti-social behaviour. They can also apply to court for an anti-social behaviour order.

The police must take very seriously complaints about antisocial behaviour which is discriminating against you. If you think they haven't taken your complaint seriously enough, or if you think the police are discriminating against you, you may want to make a complaint about the police.

For more information about how to make a complaint about the police, see Complaints in Police powers.

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What community support officers can do (England and Wales only)

In England and Wales, community support officers can take action about anti-social behaviour in certain circumstances. For example:

  • they can order people to stop cycling on the pavement
  • disperse groups of young people who are gathering in a public place
  • take children home after 9pm
  • deal with young people truanting from school, including taking them back to school
  • issue on the spot fines.

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Further help

In England, you can find more information about anti-social behaviour in housing in a leaflet by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) called Housing and antisocial behaviour: A guide for residents. To view the leaflet, follow the link below:
(New window) Housing and antisocial behaviour: A guide for residents

In Wales, you can find more information about anti-social behaviour in housing by contacting the Community Safety Division of the Welsh Assembly Government on: 0845 010 3300.

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