I need help with anti-social behaviour and nuisance
Neighbourhood nuisance and anti-social behaviour (ASB) can have a significant impact on residents and Basildon Council is committed to delivering a non judgemental, balanced service when dealing with such complaints.
We expect a reasonable level of tolerance between neighbours and will make fair evaluations on whether a complaint of neighbourhood nuisance is reasonable. An important part of creating sustainable communities is the recognition and acceptance by Basildon Council tenants and residents that the initial responsibility to resolve concerns with others lies with them.
Therefore, we may be able to provide advice, but we will not investigate the following concerns:
- A tenant going about their daily activities in their home, for example, playing with children, loud footfall, moving of furniture, babies or children crying, toilets being flushed (this is not an exhaustive list)
- Noise occurring at different times due to different working patterns or one off parties
- smoking or cooking odours, or clashes due to lifestyle or cultural differences
- Concerns which involve residents not being pleasant to each other, but are not serious enough to justify our involvement
It is important to be tolerant of other people's lifestyles and to be understanding of these possible differences. Behaviour that results from different lifestyles, or which would not be considered unreasonable by most people is not neighbourhood nuisance. Examples of this might include (this is not an exhaustive list):
- Lifestyle clashes
- Children playing or youths innocently congregating
- Ball games
- Parking disputes
- Concerns which do not breach the tenancy agreement, for example, people staring
- One off party
- Reasonable living noise such as lawn mowing, household DIY, hoovering, toilets flushing, doors banging, noise from household appliances or moving around in top floor apartments
- Putting refuse out on the wrong day
Ways in which residents may be able to prevent low level complaints being made against them may include:
- Informing your neighbours if you are going to be having a one off event
- Not to remove carpets from upper floor flats so that noise transfers to lower down properties
- Consider the use of appliance mats if you are running washing machines etc. overnight
- Telling your neighbours if your shift patterns have changed so they can be understanding of your needs
- Be considerate of your neighbours
- Do not carry out repairs or other works late at night or at other unsociable hours
- Do not play music, TV or instruments too loudly
- Keep dogs and other pets under control
- Be aware of where your children are playing, who is supervising them and what they are doing
If residents are not able to resolve their differences themselves they should contact Basildon Council where a Tenancy Services Officer may be able to offer mediation or other solutions in order to resolve the dispute.
In the event that residents are reporting more serious incidents of anti-social behaviour, this will be referred to the Anti-Social Behaviour team, to enable these incidents to be investigated. Residents will be kept informed of the progression of the investigation. Such instances may include:
- Hate Crime
- Domestic Abuse
- Threats of physical violence
- Drug dealing
- Vehicles causing a nuisance in open spaces
Should you have any concerns around criminal activity, harassment etc, please contact Essex Police directly on 101 or via their website www.essex.police.uk .
When reports are of loud music being played, and that is not just a one off incident or television being played loudly, incidents of this nature will be referred to Basildon Council's Environmental Health department to investigate.