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Criminal and anti-social behaviour

Anti-social behaviour includes a range of unacceptable behaviour that affects the quality of life for residents and others living or working in the community. We will actively defend people's rights to live in their home free from nuisance and harassment. The types of behaviour that we consider anti-social include, but are not limited to:

  • domestic violence and abuse
  • physical violence
  • hate-related incidents (for example; based on race, sexual orientation, gender, disability or belief) Hate Crime - South Holland District Council (sholland.gov.uk)
  • verbal abuse, harassment, intimidation or threatening behaviour
  • vandalism and damage to properties
  • prostitution, sexual acts or kerb crawling
  • criminal behaviour
  • noise nuisance
  • misuse of communal areas, public areas or loitering.

Phone the police on 999 if any emergency requires immediate attention.

Steps to consider before reporting ASB

Approaching your neighbour

Disputes with neighbours are often caused by misunderstandings and can be resolved by talking to each other and reaching a compromise. If you are experiencing a problem with a neighbour, your first step should be to approach them yourself. You could also write to your neighbour if this fails to resolve the problem, explaining how their actions are affecting you and politely ask them to change. You can download our letter template: ASB letter for tenant to send to neighbour (PDF, 119 KB)(opens new window). 

In some instances, we may offer mediation.  This is an informal, confidential and independent service available to help neighbours sort out their differences and reach an agreement. Mediators are experienced in dealing with a range of disputes including noise, behaviour of young people/visitors, fences and boundaries, parking spaces, rubbish.  If mediation is offered, we strongly encourage you to engage with this service.  

Is the behaviour ASB?

Residents should recognise that everyday noise and lifestyle differences are to be expected when living close to other people and are not considered anti-social behaviour.

Examples of behaviours that are unlikely to fall within the definition of ASB may include:

  • Normal everyday activities or household noise
  • Infrequent and occasional noise or disturbances including one-off parties and barbecues
  • Parking issues 
  • Boundary and fencing complaints 
  • General talking
  • Moving furniture, banging doors, and running up and down stairs
  • DIY and car repairs unless they are taking place at unsocial hours (e.g. late at night or early hours)
  • Toilets flushing
  • Noise from domestic appliances (e.g. washing machines, vacuum cleaners)
  • Using a washing machine or vacuum cleaner
  • Crying babies
  • Children playing
  • Occasional dog barking
  • Groups of people in the street or in parks, unless they are being rowdy, abusive, causing damage or committing other ASB
  • Cooking odours.

See our nuisance responsibility page for additional information Nuisance Responsibility

Keeping a record

Write down details of the incident(s) when it occurs.  When you contact us to report ASB, you will be asked for this information as it will help us deal with your concerns. Our diary sheets will help you do this: SHDC Incident Diary V1 (Word doc, 63 KB)(opens new window)  

Who else should I tell?

It may also be necessary for you to report the incident to another agency.  If the incident is serious or criminal in nature, you should contact the police.      

How do I report ASB?

If you feel threatened, intimidated, or witness a crime, you should always contact the police first. You can contact the police by calling 999 to report emergencies or by calling 101 for non-emergencies.

You can report ASB to us in a variety of ways:

How does SHDC manage anti-social behaviour?

When we receive your report, we will make contact with you to agree the next step. All reports will be dealt with promptly and sensitively in line with your views and wishes. However, it's important to know that reports take time to deal with. We'll discuss your report with you in confidence and won't reveal your identify to your neighbour or anybody else unless you agree to this being done, but in most cases, the first step to take would be for us to contact the person causing you a problem. They would need to be made aware of their behaviour and the problems that it's causing so that they have an opportunity to change their behaviour. 

After we've spoken to them, we will monitor the situation to see whether their behaviour has improved or got worse. In order to do this, we'll need you to help us by:  

  • Writing down the dates and times that problems happen
  • Telling us how it has affected you and made you feel
  • Letting us know if anyone else has witnessed the problem as well 

Wherever possible, we try to sort out disputes as quickly as possible. However, in more serious cases, we may need to take legal action. This is considered to be a last resort and in order to do this, the Court would require good supporting evidence. 

We take the following factors into account when considering what our next steps will be. 

  • The type of behaviour
  • The severity and frequency of incidents
  • The evidence that is available
  • The impact that the behaviour is having
  • Who else is being affected
  • Whether the person/people whose behaviour is causing problems has been given an opportunity to change it (depending on the severity of it) and whether there has been an improvement
  • What other intervention(s) has/ have been considered or tried so far.   

We can address anti-social behaviour through a range of approaches including:

  • 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. 
  • Legal remedies such as:
    • Community Protection Notices
    • Demoting tenancies
    • Fixed penalties
    • Civil injunctions
    • Possession proceedings. 

Where legal action is taken, we will ask complainants to provide evidence or to attend a court to give evidence in person. 

Eviction is only taken as a last resort and is used for extreme unacceptable behaviour that continues over a period of time.

Can I request a review of my case?

The Anti-Social Behaviour Case Review (also known as the Community Trigger) allows victims of persistent anti-social behaviour (ASB) to request a formal review of their case, where the local threshold is met. Further information is available at Anti-Social Behaviour Case Review (Community Trigger) - South Holland District Council (sholland.gov.uk)

Further information and advice

See our nuisance responsibility page for additional information Nuisance Responsibility

Help and advice is available from a range of different organisations such as: 

Help with anti-social behaviour for social housing tenants - GOV.UK

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