Anti-social behaviour
We want you to feel safe in your home, and are committed to preventing, resolving and supporting you through anti-social behaviour (ASB). You can report anti-social behaviour by:
- Phoning 0114 2900 200 or 0800 1380 380
- Completing our online form
- Emailing enquiries@syha.co.uk
- Writing to: South Yorkshire Housing Association, 152 Rockingham Street, Sheffield, S1 4EB
If you are in immediate danger, call 999. If you’re not able to speak, press 55 and you’ll be automatically transferred to the police.
Information and support
This page explains what anti-social behaviour is, how we resolve reports of anti-social behaviour, and has information about useful services.
Anti-social behaviour policy
Our approach
We understand that anti-social behaviour can have a significant impact on you and your neighbourhood. If you report anti-social behaviour, we will…
- Prioritise resolving any anti-social behaviour
- Support you and the alleged perpetrators, and focus on finding a solution
- Work collaboratively with external partners
- Be clear that everyone has the right to their chosen lifestyle (unless this breaches the terms and conditions of their tenancy agreement or lease and/or impacts the quality of life of others)
We will complete an initial risk assessment to categorise the severity of each anti-social behaviour case. We will:
- act within one working day if there is a hate incident, physical violence or domestic abuse.
- act within five working days if there is verbal abuse, drug or alcohol-related anti-social behaviour, persistent noise nuisance, vandalism, animal nuisance or fly tipping.
We will ask you the following questions as part of our risk assessment process:
- What impact is the anti-social behaviour having on you and other members of your household?
- Do you consider you or anyone in your household to be vulnerable or disabled?
Help and support
- Tell us about anti-social behaviour by calling 0800 1380 380 or email enquiries@syha.co.uk
- You can report any crime or anti-social behaviour anonymously via Crimestoppers.
- If the crime is not an emergency you can report it to your local Policing Team or call 101.
- You can report hate crime to the police.
- If the incident involves noise nuisance you can contact your Local Authority.
- If you have been a victim of crime you can receive support and advice from Victim Support.
What is anti-social behaviour?
The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, defines antisocial behaviour as:
- Conduct that has caused or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to any person
- Conduct that is capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to a person in relation to that person’s occupation of residential premises
- Conduct that is capable of causing housing-related nuisance or annoyance to any person
Examples of anti-social behaviour and harassment include:
- Acts of violence
- Persistent loud music, especially at unreasonable hours
- Dog fouling, uncontrolled and noisy pets
- Drug supply, use, or production
- Alcohol-related nuisance
- Verbal or physical abuse and threats
- Environmental health issues, including fly-tipping
- Hate incidents or crimes
What is not anti-social behaviour?
Reports due to different lifestyles or every-day living situations which are not intended to cause nuisance or annoyance. This includes:
- children playing and babies crying
- household noise due to everyday living
- one-off parties, BBQs and celebrations
- cooking odours and reasonable household smells
- vaping and smoking cigarettes
- minor car maintenance
- reports around ball games
- actions which amount to people being unpleasant (e.g. staring, ignoring people or gossiping)
- general parking disputes.
What is hate crime?
Hate crime is defined as any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim, or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a person’s race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or disability. We will investigate allegations of hate crime, work with partners to resolve incidents, and support victims to access specialist support services.
How we can help
We will respond to anti-social behaviour cases that involve at least one of our customers.
We prevent anti-social behaviour by…
- Checking who is applying for our homes, and asking for references from the previous landlord where appropriate
- Making sure new customers understand what anti-social behaviour is, and how to report it
- Inspecting and maintaining communal areas and land to prevent fly tipping and damage, which can lead to anti-social behaviour
If you report anti-social behaviour, we will…
- Communicate with you in your preferred method
- Act within one working day for serious cases and five days for all others
- Respond sensitively and adopt high standards of confidentiality
- Work with and signpost you to other organisations, if required
- Record the case on our IT system, so we have a record of what we have agreed with you
When we take action, we will…
- Agree an action plan with you, including timeframes and any evidence required
- Log any actions and include any referrals to statutory bodies.
- Interview all people involved, if it is safe and appropriate to do so and with your permission
- Consider a range of non-legal interventions (e.g. Acceptable Behaviour Contracts, tenancy support, warning letters).
- Encourage you to report any criminality to the police
- Take legal action where it is appropriate and proportionate to do so
- Keep you updated throughout the case, and every two weeks at the minimum
We will also support you by…
- Signposting to support services
- Making safeguarding referrals if we are concerned about someone’s safety
- Providing additional support where necessary, including target hardening measures (e.g. lock changes)
- Offering support to vulnerable perpetrators, to help them make the changes necessary to prevent a re-occurrence of anti-social behaviour
Closing cases
Before closing a case, we will inform you either verbally or by a letter. We will explain our reasons for closing the case. We will close cases when:
- We gain your consent to close the case
- You confirm that the issues have been resolved
- There is a lack of engagement
- There is no further action that we can take
- There is insufficient evidence to support the allegations.
- When another agency is dealing with the case and our involvement is no longer required
Anonymous and confidential reporting
We always promise to keep your details confidential. We comply with the Data Protection Act 2018. This sets out requirements for ensuring your data is properly protected and only shared in a lawful way.
We will record anonymous reports of anti-social behaviour – however, this means that we are unable to provide updates on the actions we’re taking to resolve the anti-social behaviour. It can also make anti-social behaviour cases more difficult to resolve.
Please be aware that, in some cases, it may be apparent to the alleged perpetrator who has made the complaint. For example, if you are complaining of loud music and live in the only adjoining property.
Anti-social behaviour case review
If you are a victim of persistent anti-social behaviour, you have the right to request a case review. The Anti-social behaviour case review gives you the right to request a multi-agency case review, where a local threshold is met. The review looks at information related to the case, what action has previously been taken, and decides whether there are additional actions that can be completed. This does not replace our Complaints process.
Actions you can take
We expect you (and members of your household, visitors and pets) not to commit anti-social behaviour. You are also encouraged to:
- Take responsibility for minor disputes with your neighbours, and try to resolve any problems.
- Report ongoing or serious incidents of anti-social behaviour.
- Report domestic abuse, hate crime and all other crimes to the police. We can support you to do this.
You should also meet any legal responsibilities in your tenancy and lease agreements.
