Northwards Housing

Solving anti-social behaviour

The first step

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Have you reported anti-social behaviour? If so we will contact you quickly to confirm that we're looking into the case.

We can sort out obvious problems fairly easily. For example if you tell us about a rubbish-filled garden we simply go round and check. We'll tell the other person to clean it up, and take action against them for breaking their tenancy agreement if they don't.

But cases aren't always quite so simple, and we will probably need to talk to you to understand the problem and how it affects you.

Problem solving

We will give you a named officer who will have responsibility for your complaint and will arrange to meet you at your home, in the housing office or somewhere else. In serious cases we want to meet you within 24 hours or as soon as possible the following the working day. By serious we usually mean where you have experienced or been threatened with violence. In other cases we will meet you within 5 working days.We'll ask you who is affected, how they're affected, where it happens, and when it happens. We'll speak to other people in your household who have been affected too.

We will discuss and review the options for solving the problem with you. We will listen to and consider any suggestions that you make. At the end of the meeting we will draw up a plan that describes what you should do and what we will do to get the problem sorted out. See Taking action.

Talking it through

If the case does not involve threats, violence or harassment, the plan could start with a sugestion that you talk the problem through with the other person. There's always a better chance of solving a dispute if you try and see each other's point of view. Sometimes a neighbour just needs reminding that their behaviour is upsetting you.

If you feel uneasy about approaching a neighbour on your own we can set up a meeting for you. We can be there to help you talk through the problem together. Or there's a special service that you can use to solve your dispute - Mediation. This service has expert advisers who can help find a solution you're both happy with.

At your service