Anti-social behaviour (ASB)
What is anti-social behaviour and what we do about it?
What is anti-social behaviour?
Anti-social behaviour is conduct that has caused, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to any person; conduct capable of causing housing-related nuisance or annoyance to any person (Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014).
It’s a term that is used in the media a lot and is used to describe a huge range of things from serious, criminal activity (such as selling drugs, domestic abuse or prostitution) through to issues such as loud music, dumping rubbish or animal nuisance.
Is it ASB? Get information and advice with our online guide
Police Support
The police are a key partner for social landlords and local authorities in tackling antisocial behaviour. They can act as a highly visible deterrent to perpetrators and their presence can also provide reassurance to affected communities. The police’s core responsibilities include protecting life and property, preserving order, preventing the committing of offences, and bringing offenders to justice. The police may need to work with social landlords and local authorities to: • arrest perpetrators • prevent and deter incidents from taking place support victims • protect people from the impact of anti-social behaviour
Other Support
As well as contacting your us, your local authority or the police, you may prefer to contact an independent advice agency such as Citizens Advice and ASB Help. They offer free, independent, and impartial advice. With your permission, they can approach the agencies you have been dealing with as an advocate on your behalf. You may also contact a solicitor for legal advice, though you may have to pay for any advice and help that you are given.
How we can help
There are two approaches we can take to help:
- using non-legal solutions: advising people their behaviour is unacceptable and must stop, issuing direct warnings, acceptable behaviour agreements, referral to mediation or other support services
- using legal remedies such as: civil injunctions or possession proceedings.
Tenancy agreements set out expectations about the behaviour of tenants. We can take action against people who do not comply, and have the right to seek to evict a tenant in serious cases. If we decide to take legal action, you might be asked to help by providing evidence or to attend a court to give evidence in person and we will support you through this process. Alternatively, we may use a professional witness to provide evidence in court on your behalf. Civil injunctions, we can seek civil injunctions through the courts to stop people engaging in acts of anti-social behaviour in a specific location. Some injunctions can be given without notice, but they are only available if there has been a threat or use of violence. Possession proceedings In serious cases, we may be able to evict the perpetrator of anti-social behaviour through the courts, however, this action as a last resort only, where all other reasonable steps to stop the behaviour have failed.
