Anti-social behaviour (ASB) can affect every area of your life especially when you live next-door to it.
When you report the ASB you need to clearly describe the impact it is having on your life. The more you can spell out how it is affecting your quality of life and your daily routine the more notice local agencies are going to take.
Example
Recently a victim asked me to take a look at their ASB Case Review application. They had summarised in just one sentence the fact that they had needed to move into different rooms to try and reduce the impact of the noise from the neighbour. My advice was to really spell out the impact.
The application mentioned disturbed sleep. I advised them to expand on how this affected their work as well as general health. They had a son studying for exams which was also definitely worth emphasising.
How is the Behaviour Affecting You?
Noise can simply be a nuisance, and council officers know that. Yet noise (and any anti-social behaviour) can also be so much more, impacting on health, employment, education, emotional wellbeing and relationships. A police officer told me recently about a victim who is on their final warning at work because the ASB is impacting on their ability to do their job.
So when reporting an incident of anti-social behaviour, and especially a ASB Case Review application, ask yourself:
- How has this behaviour affected by quality of life?
- How is it impacting on my health?
- Is it interfering with my work or my education?
- How has this behaviour impacted on my daily routine?
- How do I feel each day or each time it happens?
- Has it negatively impacted on my family or friends, for example meaning I cannot have people round to visit?
These questions should help you draw out all the ways you are being affected and the harm caused.
Be specific. Spell it out and do not let agencies belittle what is happening to you.
Just unbearable and unbelievable, have had enough 2 years and 6 months of torture, neighbour’s music. Have filled in endless diaries, took recordings on our cassette but when we visited our housing association on Thursday 16th, they said it would not stand a chance as it has to be dated, timed and length of time, we thought we had done this by the diaries filled in but apparently it needs to be digitally recorded and not as we had it.
So now we have to start diaries all over again, just can not let this sink in at present My husband has had a breakdown over this and I am disabled, the ASB person is driving us insane, he drinks heavy but works. Have informed local Police regarding his behaviour they attended and had a talk to him, when they left he went ballistic thumping the wall, swearing, then the music went on extremely loud for 48 hours solid.
Our housing association just do not seem to care much, all that was said is we have to get all the evidence we can if we are to through him out. Understand this but why o’ why did they not tell us to fill in diaries 2 years ago and tape recordings? This ASB person has broken every single rule in the tenancy book and seem to be more on his side than ours.
It is killing us having this noise level and behaviour especially from someone in their 60’s, we are pretty certain that something is seriously wrong with him.
What on earth do we need to do? Have told the environment noise people who want to wait until they receive a report from our landlords ASB manager. Nobody but nobody will listen to us. Help please help.
Do feel extremely belittled by our housing association, 2 years and 8 months ago put in a complaint about our ASB neighbour, at the worst we had 18 hours solid of thumping music which was loud enough to hear although our doors and windows were closed. They first sent out mediators who we spoke to, ASB just shut the door in their faces. We have asked politely for him to turn the noise down, I am registered disabled, he just told us to F off. Their ASB officer closed the case although we kept on complaining, then a while later the housing association decided to try and do something about it, so we filled in diary sheets like before, times, dates, what happened, how you felt etc., we did this then got asked to go and see the ASB officer who to our surprise said, these are no good and shoved them back to us across the table. Need evidence we were told, so bought a new tape machine and recorded noise, filled in diary and took recorder in. Once again diaries shoved back to us, no good has to be digital if this goes to court then judge will want details. Off we went in tears, alas bought yet another digital tape recorder, taped music, even called 101 and the policeman hear the racket that we had recorded but said he would take details and send someone out. 2 P.C.S.O’S came out spoke to us and then went to speak to the ASB person, after they left ASB person went beserk thrashed something against our kitchen wall from his bathroom shouting about us calling the Police. ASB drinks heavy every day but works, again the thumping at almost midnight, pleaded with a Policeman by email to send someone out, not long before the same 2 P.C.S.O’S came along and parked a distance away but heard the noise whilst coming to our 1 bed bungalow, they went into our bedroom and then knocked on ASB’S front door, on the 3rd knock which was his window, shouted his name and said Police open up. They went in eventually with body cams on and told ASB to lower the volume, he was so drunk ASB, turned it up instead. After seeing him like this one of them said he would tell the ASB officer at housing association. As far as we know he did as we were payed a visit by the P.C.S.O who told us he had. Emails went back and forth and we kept wanting to know why the 2 years hadn’t been mentioned, the ASB officer said she didn’t merit them and just wanted to concentrate on the latest idea of showing our ASB neighbour how loud he could have it. Have not agreed to this as think we have suffered enough and to top it all have complained about the ASB officer as she has had endless diaries from us explaining how we felt etc., reports from the Police, G.P letters as this has caused my husband to have a breakdown. Now heard back from the housing & community services to say that he, the man that’s dealing with it thinks that the ASB Officer hasn’t done anything wrong, has backed her up and let us right down, he has also lied to us as to when he had read our G.P’S letter and his response to us today 05/08/2019. This whole ASB person and the housing association has made us quite poorly, as said. Now am not so sure who to go to and it’s not fair, 2 years and 8 months of drunken, noisy behaviour and the housing association do not give a damn about their tenants. So in the meantime we have to put up with, but my husband can’t, our ASB neighbours unruly, intimidating behaviour.
Hi
I Have sent my Council landlord over 100 emails about a disruptive neighbour and never once been told about the community trigger
We are a small charity who campaign for Local Authorities and Police Forces to embrace the ASB Case Review as a tool to take a multi agency approach to facilitate an effective resolution to cases of anti-social behaviour. We appreciate that some authorities are reluctant but ultimately, it is your statutory right to request a review of your case (subject to meeting your local authority criteria). You can find more information on how to do this here: http://asbhelp-co-uk.stackstaging.com/community-trigger
We hope this helps and gives you another option to find resolution.
Have just read the above and have done all this and much more.
Our G.P has written to our housing association regarding the state we are in because of our neighbour’s alcohol and noise problem.
We have had this ASB problem for well over 2 years and my husband has had a breakdown over it, I am registered disabled and trying to live a peaceful life but since the housing association moved this person in next door to us our lives are not worth living. We have had the “thumping” noise for 18 hours solid, we have called 101 on several occasions, have also visited their local office because we have been in such a state needed some help. The 2nd time a call was made and they sent 2 PCSO’s out, who knocked on our neighbours door but had no answer after the second knock no answer again, the third time one of the PCSO’s knocked on his window and said his name and to open the door, they were wearing their web cams which captured our neighbour and his equipment. He was drunk to say the least, and music was blaring away, the two PCSO’s could hear the noise even before they knocked on his door. This was their second visit to him about the same thing.
The first time they went to see him was also because we contacted 101, and went round for a friendly word which apparently did not go down well, they were asked to leave. After this they came back to ours and told us not to answer the door, to keep it locked, and not to speak with him, he was livid because we called them out. When they had gone our neighbour thumped and thumped on his bathroom wall, swearing at us for calling the Police. He then turned the noise up even more until the early hours of the morning. We had no sleep.
This goes on always, we can’t sleep, eat as we feel ill, sick and so tired of his behaviour it is like living on a knife edge all day, wondering if he will come back home from work early and start his behaviour pattern. All the evidence from the Police have been shown to the housing association together with all the diaries we have filled in.
The result from the ASB officer dealing with our case is unbelievable as she doesn’t believe a word we have said, also has refused to take into account the past 2 years of our suffering, her words were she does not “merit” going back over the 2 years.
Last Friday the 30th August, 2019 the ASB officer & the Environmental health man paid a visit to both our bungalows, they are 1 bed and neighbours has a new surround sound system with sound bar up against our bedroom wall, no equipment was brought with them one stayed in our bungalow and the other in his, this was the Environmental Health man, who put the level of the t.v system up as far as it would go, and he couldn’t stand it so turned it down to number 18 on our neighbour’s t.v., it apparently goes up to No: 22. When finished testing the sound was nothing like we have to bear which we told them. The PCSO counted 7 speakers in the bungalow but when the Environmental Health and ASB officer from housing association were there they only saw the t.v surround system and sound bar, no speakers. Which we believe he had taken down as he knew they were going to visit.
It has been left that our neighbour keeps to No: 18 on his T.V system, and asked him to move it away from our wall, he said that he would move them in a couple of weeks, when he is ready to and not before. When told this we said that he would only stick to what they said for a day or so, because we know what he is capable of when drunk etc., it will be back to square one again.
Meantime he has turned all but 1 of our neighbours against us, he was “slagging” us off only yesterday evening, I emailed ASB officer and unless he has threatened us, he has before, to take no notice of him. This is impossible as he is blackening our good name now to all, because he has been let off from being evicted.
This housing association does not care what we have been/going through, and with refusing to take the last 2 years of hell into account, now all this, makes us feel like we are the perpetrators but we are the victims, ASB officer will not even take the PCSO’s evidence let alone our endless diaries which have all been filled in with more than is requested. Just feel so helpless now as nobody believes us, just want to curl up and sleep forever.
So much more could tell you but feel that you won’t believe our side of things either and we don’t know what to do anymore, nobody wants to help us get this ASB person away from us, ASB officer told us she has no intention of evicting him. We are at the end now, lost, tired and unwell all because of this ASB person.
Having fought with our housing association for 2 years and 8 months over our neighbour and his ASB, my husband has had a breakdown and today I have received a letter from the housing association giving me a written warning, all because I have tried to get their ASB officer to understand and have now had this letter.
I have not used bad language threatened them or anything like this, have reported them to housing ombudsman but that’s all.
Now there is no hope as our Environmental Health Department don’t work nights, and the Police can’t do anything. Where does this leave us? In an early grave and am serious.
Thank you for this. The anxiety cause by noise nuisance and other anti-social behaviours gets unbearable really quickly and it feels impossible to think or express yourself properly – being specific is incredibly hard under those circumstances. Thank you for providing a structure for getting to the nitty gritty of the affects ASB has on those experiencing it. ASB Help is a brilliant organisation and I’m so grateful it exists.