You And Your Neighbours This section tells you: • What your tenancy agreement says about neighbour nuisance and anti-social behaviour. • How to be a good neighbour. • Advice for people living in flats. • What you should do if you are suffering from neighbour nuisance or anti-social behaviour. • What we will do if we receive a report of neighbour nuisance or anti-social behaviour. • About mediation. • About the Victim and Witness Support Project.
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What Your Tenancy Agreement Says About Neighbour Nuisance And Anti-Social Behaviour Your tenancy agreement states that you are responsible for the behaviour of everyone (including children) living in or visiting your home. You are responsible for them in your home, on surrounding land, in shared areas, and in the neighbourhood around your home. Your tenancy agreement states that you must not do the following, or allow anyone living with you or visiting you to do the following: • Cause a nuisance to, annoy or disturb any other person, including your neighbours, neighbours’ visitors, and our employees or agents. Examples of nuisance behaviour include: allowing or making noise at your home, which can be heard outside your home or by neighbours, such as playing loud music or instruments, playing your TV loudly, slamming doors and shouting; allowing dogs to bark or foul public areas; being offensively drunk; selling or using drugs; dumping rubbish and playing ball games. • Harass any other person, including your neighbours, neighbours’ visitors, and our employees or agents. Examples include racist behaviour or language; using or threatening to use violence; using abusive or insulting words or behaviour; damaging or threatening to damage another person’s home or possessions and writing threatening, abusive or insulting graffiti.
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How To Be A Good Neighbour The Association wants all its tenants to enjoy their homes and take pleasure from living in a friendly, caring community. Please make sure that your family and visitors consider your neighbours. For example, in the hot weather when windows are wide open, remember that the sound of your TV, radio or CD player travels further, so please keep the volume down. Think about elderly people who live near you, or families with young children who may go to bed earlier than you, and try not to make a lot of noise late at night. If you are planning a party, let your neighbours know in advance - in fact, why not ask them to come over and join in! If you are planning some DIY, or other noisy activities, be courteous, and let your neighbours know what you are planning to do. Remember – a little bit of consideration goes a long way!
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Advice For People Living In Flats Obviously, living in a flat means you are closer to your neighbours than if you live in a house, and noise will travel more easily. This means that you should take extra care not to cause a nuisance to your neighbours. For example, laminate or wooden flooring can cause a lot of noise for someone living below you. You must always seek permission from us before installing such flooring. If we think this will cause too much noise for your neighbours we may refuse permission.
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What You Should Do If You Are Suffering From Neighbour Nuisance Or Anti-Social Behaviour If you feel that a neighbour is behaving unreasonably, there are several ways to approach the problem. Please remember that the Association may not be able to deal with all aspects of noise or nuisance. • The first thing to do is to speak to your neighbour about the problem. This is best done quietly and calmly. Why not have a chat over a cup of tea? After all, your neighbour may not have realised they were causing a problem, and may be happy to put it right. • If the nuisance still continues, you should contact your Housing Officer for help and advice. Your Housing Officer will explain what action the Association can and cannot take, as well as advising you which other agencies may be able to help. If the nuisance involves criminal activity, it is very important that you also report it to the police, and obtain a crime reference number. • You should keep a ‘diary’ of every incident that occurs, including the date and time of the incident, a record of what occurred, and the names and addresses of any witnesses. This will help the Association in deciding the best course of action, and will provide vital evidence if it is necessary to take any form of legal action. • If you are ever in any doubt about your own personal safety, please contact the Police on 999.
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How Do I Know Who To Call To Deal With Different Types Of Nuisance? 101 – The Non-Emergency Number. This is a number available for the people of Cardiff to report anti-social behaviour and nuisance that affects their neighbourhood or community. Provided by South Wales Police, it offers an easy to remember number that allows people to report incidents of: • • • • • • •
Vandalism and graffiti. Drunken and rowdy behaviour. Drugs related anti-social behaviour. Intimidation and harassment. Gangs of youths causing nuisance. Domestic violence. Any law breaking activity that is not an emergency.
For the following problems, please call Connect to Cardiff (C2C) on 029 2087 2087. • Broken street lighting. • Abandoned vehicles. • Dumping and fly tipping. For any noise nuisance complaints, including barking dogs and loud parties and music (see below) please call Pollution Control on 029 2087 1650. This number also operates out of hours. You should always report neighbour nuisance of any sort to Taff Housing Association as well as the numbers above. We now have a dedicated Taff Housing Association Out-of-Hours Anti-Social Behaviour Reporting Line on 029 2025 9100. Please use this line if you are affected by nuisance and anti-social behaviour out of office hours. As soon as we return to work an officer will call you to discuss this report and take action. IN EMERGENCY PLEASE CALL 999 If you are unsure about what to do please speak to your Housing Officer. Other contact numbers are listed in the ‘Useful Contacts’ section of this handbook. 6
What We Will Do If We Receive A Report Of Anti-Social Behaviour Or Nuisance As a responsible social landlord, Taff Housing Association is committed to preventing and addressing incidents of anti-social behaviour and harassment, and supporting tenants and other residents who suffer as a result of others. We aim to resolve disputes between neighbours as quickly and appropriately as possible A victim-centred approach will ensure that all incidents perceived to constitute anti-social behaviour or harassment will be investigated immediately and thoroughly. We will deal sensitively with all reports of anti-social behaviour or harassment and will seek to support victims by working with them to find and agree an approach with which they are comfortable. Initially, we will try to resolve the problem informally by discussing the complaints with all parties concerned and trying to reach a resolution. We will not take sides and will always strive to listen to both sides of the story. This may include the use of a professional mediator. If this approach fails, we can consider the following action. Any action taken will be based on the facts of each case, and the evidence available. • We will consider all available legal remedies. These include Injunctions, Demotion of Tenancy Orders, Anti-Social Behaviour Orders and Possession Proceedings, leading to eviction. Please remember, however, that such action can only be taken where clear evidence exists to support it. • Where we do not have the power to act, or where other agencies are better placed and equipped to deal with a situation, we will make this clear. In such situations we will work with those other agencies and, where possible, take action to complement their approach. For example, some acts of anti-social behaviour are also criminal offences and Taff will work with victims and the police to address such problems where this is necessary. • We will draw up an ‘action plan’ with you so that you are clear about what we will be doing.
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About Mediation Many neighbour problems can be sorted out by talking things through and coming to an agreement. We recognise that sometimes this can be difficult. In such cases, we can refer you to an independent mediator. Their job is to facilitate such discussions and to ensure that everyone: • Feels safe. • Is able to have their say. • Reaches a resolution that all parties are happy with. The mediation service is free, completely impartial, completely independent, and completely confidential. The mediator will not discuss anything you say with the housing association, unless you give your consent, but will report progress, for example will let the Association know if both parties are attending the meetings.
About The Victim And Witness Support Service This service is free, confidential and independent of the Association and can provide you with practical help, information and support, as well as someone to talk to. If you would like to know more you can ask your Housing Officer to refer you, or you can contact the Victim Support Team directly on 0845 612 1900 www.victimsupport.org.uk
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