Anti-social behaviour

What is ASB?

Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) takes many forms, affecting people in different ways. In the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 ASB is defined as:

“Conduct which is capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to any person and directly or indirectly relates to or affects the housing management functions of the relevant landlord.”

“Conduct which consists of or involves using or threatening to use housing accommodation owned or managed by a relevant landlord for an unlawful purpose.”

ASB can include, but is not an exhaustive list:

• Threats or acts of violence, harassment or discrimination on the grounds of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age or disability etc;
• Use of the premises for illegal purposes including drug offences, stolen goods, prostitution etc;
• Pets – such as barking, fouling or dangerous dogs;
• Noise – i.e. loud music;
• Vandalism or graffiti;
• Damage to property or communal areas;
• Abandoned, untaxed and / or roadworthy vehicles; and
• Untidy gardens, driveways, rubbish, uncut grass, hedges and car repairs etc.

How to report ASB

• By Telephone: In office hours Monday to Friday 08:30 – 17:00 on 01790 754219;
• Visit us – Come into the Lincs Rural office and a member of staff will assist you;
• E-mail – Lincs Rural on customerservice@lrha.co.uk;
• If your case is of a serious nature you may want to telephone the police. Always ask for an incident number.
• 999 – emergencies; or on
• 101 – for non-emergency matters.

What will Lincs Rural do when an ASB incident is reported?

Lincs Rural takes any report of ASB very seriously and will ensure that the issue is fully investigated. To investigate reports of ASB five basic facts are required:

1. Where is the problem? In your home, outside your home or somewhere else?
2. When? Is it at night, in the early hours of the morning or during the day?
3. Who? Is it your neighbour, a relative or a stranger? If you do not know them, can you describe them?
4. Why? Is there a reason you are being targeted or is it a problem that affects the whole community, such as drug dealing?
5. What is the ASB? Is it loud music, nuisance from young people, barking dogs?

Your answers are very important. The easiest way of recording the information is on our diary sheets. You can obtain these by contacting Lincs Rural staff.

What action can be taken?

Lincs Rural uses a range of measures to address the situation, dependent upon the problem. An action plan may then be agreed with you, which might include:

• Interviews and warnings;
• Mediation (by talking to an independent go-between or ‘mediator’);
• Work with other agencies (who have relevant skills or powers to help);
• Acceptable behaviour contracts (ABC’s) (someone’s written agreement to stop behaving in specific ways);
• Good Neighbour Agreements (where residents agree their standards of behaviour); and
• Diary sheets (giving written evidence of problems).

Legal action

Legal action will be taken in serious cases of ASB, including domestic violence and racial harassment. Legal action can also be taken to deal with less serious problems if all other measures have failed to stop the persistent nuisance.

In all cases legal action can only be taken if there is enough evidence to prove in Court that nuisance is being caused. Legal action could be in the form of:

• An injunction (a court order to stop certain behaviour);
• An ASB Order (banning a person from behaving in a specific way);
• A Demoted Residency (reducing a person’s residency rights);
• A Possession Order (eviction);

A Court will only give a Possession Order as a last resort, when all other options have been exhausted.