Anti-social behaviour (ASB)

If the incident is serious or life-threatening, please call 999 immediately and speak to the emergency services.

If the incident involves a crime not requiring an emergency response, please call 101. For example if:

• Your car has been stolen
• Your property has been damaged
• You suspect drug use or dealing in your neighbourhood

Alternatively:

• Give the police information about crime in your area

If you’re experiencing anti-social behaviour it can be a tough time and we understand that.

Your case officer will stay in regular contact with you and there's also options for extra support from a range of local services in your area.

This can include

• Victim Support – a national charity that supports people affected by crime or traumatic events.
• Local mental health services – if you need some extra support due to mental health issues.
• Local substance abuse services – if your experience of anti-social behaviour is being made worse due to substance abuse issues.
• Other internal teams.

We will always talk to you about your support needs and never speak to a third party about your case without your permission.

We attempt to resolve all ASB complaints quickly and will work with partner agencies where appropriate. More information can be found in our ASB policy.

If you’ve reported ASB to us and feel the action we’ve taken isn’t helping to tackle the problem, then there are a number of things you can do:

1. 1) Make a complaint to us
   
   You can progress a complaint through Southern Housing’s complaints procedure.
   
   If you make a formal complaint a Southern Housing manager will investigate and respond to it.
   
   You can also escalate your complaint if you’re still dissatisfied after we respond.
   
   
   
2. 2) Make a complaint through your local authority (LA): a ‘Community trigger’
   
   The ASB, Crime and Policing Act 2014 brought in measures to give victims and communities more say in the way their ASB reports are dealt with.
   
   This includes the Community Trigger (also known as the ASB case review). It gives victims the right to request a multi-agency case review where a local authority’s threshold is met.
   
   If you meet your local authority’s threshold for a community trigger (usually 3 separate ASB reports in a 6 month period), they’ll arrange a meeting with you and the key agencies dealing with the ASB to review the case.
   
   At this meeting an independent panel will listen to your concerns. They’ll also hear what the different agencies involved have done to tackle the ASB. The panel then make recommendations on further action to improve things for you.
   
   Community triggers are taken very seriously and all agencies involved are fully expected to act on any recommendations they receive.

What’s the difference between them?

You can make a formal complaint to Southern Housing if there’s been one service failure. A community trigger usually requires you to report 3 separate incidents first.

Our formal complaints are investigated and dealt with by Southern Housing colleagues. A community trigger is co-ordinated by your local authority and involves an independent panel reviewing the case.

A complaint will only consider Southern Housing’s actions whereas a community trigger will consider the actions of all key agencies dealing with the ASB

Which one should I use?

Our complaints process and the community trigger are independent of each other. Each has its own conditions to be used.

You’re not required to make a formal complaint before applying for a community trigger. However if you’re not satisfied with our response we’d appreciate the opportunity to resolve this through our complaints process first.

The Good Neighbourhood Management approach is designed to help with everyday issues like:
•    Unintentional noise between properties
•    Disputes about use of shared spaces such as communal gardens
•    Dogs barking
•    Children playing
•    Noise from DIY 
•    Car parking disputes
•    Lifestyle differences. 

Asking you both to sign up to a Good Neighbour Agreement (GNA)

A GNA document sets out how neighbours agree to behave to avoid problems. It can be tailored to your situation - for example, returning bins promptly or letting neighbours know about upcoming parties. Both parties can suggest what to include, and everyone is invited to sign. Signing doesn’t mean admitting guilt; it’s about making improvements.

Mediation

Mediation involves an impartial professional helping neighbours agree on future behaviour. It’s confidential and requires both parties’ consent. Each person shares their views, then works toward practical commitments. Mediation often improves understanding and relationships.

If you report noise to us and we deal with it through this procedure, as well as taking action to improve relations with your neighbour, we’ll also consider a range of simple measures to help improve the noise between you and your neighbour’s homes.

These may include:
•    Checking for repairs contributing to the noise (hammering pipes / creaking floorboards /slamming doors)
•    Checking all parties have adequate floor coverings in their home
•    Installing low-cost measures to reduce the impact of noise e.g. pads on kitchen unit door or restrictors on doors. There are limits to what we can spend. And we’re unable to fund any extensive soundproofing works.