How do I report ASB?

You can report ASB to Sandwell Homes in many ways:

By telephone, in writing, through local neighbourhoood offices, by email, click here to visit the neighbourhood offices pages

By email or through the ASB hotline (0845 359 7500).

What happens after making a report?

• All reports of ASB will be acknowledged and you will be given a reference number relating to your case.

• You will be interviewed about it

• We will conduct an interview in private, either at the time of complaint or within 5 working days.

• At the interview we will discuss what the complaint is about and who is involved.

• We will explain our procedures to you and develop action points.

• Discuss what action we can take and what action you can take.

• We will give you a copy of the interview paperwork; this will quote a unique reference number, which you can quote when making enquires about the case.

• If the alleged perpetrator is not a Council tenant we may refer you to the Council’s ASB team.

• In most cases we will give you ‘incident diary sheets’ to complete, we will explain how to complete them and why they are necessary.

• We will treat all information provided in the strictest of confidence.

• We will get your permission before contacting the alleged perpetrator, however in some circumstances we may be under a duty to act.

3. What service can I expect when I report ASB?

We will:

• Deal with your complaint as quickly as possible.

• Keep you informed of progress at least once every two weeks until your complaint has been closed

• Contact the alleged perpetrator, if you have given permission.

• Aim to resolve the situation without taking enforcement action, however if all preventative tools have been exhausted and the ASB persists we will start legal proceedings.

• Work with other agencies (e.g. Police, Environmental Health) to try and resolve the problem.

• Take a victim centred approach and we will do our best to offer support throughout the process.

• A leaflet on our service standards is available from the neighbourhood offices. Also if they are current tenant information is contained within the tenant handbook.

4. Why may an ASB complaint be closed?

There are a number of reasons why a case could be closed:

• We have resolved the complaint

• There have been no new reports reported for the past 12 weeks

• There is not sufficient evidence to substantiate your complaint and all options have been exhausted

• You request that you do not wish us to pursue the case

If the complaint has been closed, we will:

• Explain in writing our reasons for closing the complaint

• Give you advice on what to do next.

• Consider re-opening the case if there are further incidents

5. What action can complainants take?

If you have a problem with a neighbour

If this is the first time you’ve experienced a nuisance problem with your neighbour, it may be best to do nothing. If they’re having a party or going some diy, a bit of tolerance on your part may be the best thing to sort out the problem. If you’re too quick to complain, it might make things worse for you.

If the problem continues try talking to your neighbour and explain what the problem is. They may not realise they are causing you any disturbance. If you get someone else involved at this stage, it may make things a lot worse. Here are some tips, which you may find useful to approach your neighbour:

• Don’t leave it until your really angry, or things get out of hand

• Don’t lose your temper or use aggressive body language

• Do talk to the person face to face when they are on their own

• Do work out beforehand what your going to say

• Do be calm and speak quietly and slowly

• Do be prepared to listen to their side of the story, don’t interrupt.

• Do leave straightaway if they become aggressive or threatening. If this happens you should report the problem.

6. Why do complainants have to keep incident diary sheets?

Incident diary sheets are very important because they help us to decide how best to proceed with your complaint, and they act as evidence. If we don’t receive properly completed diary sheets we will not be able to continue with the investigation through lack of evidence. Here are some tips on how to keep diary sheets:

• Write clearly and accurately, we need to be able to understand exactly what happened.

• When: include the date and exact time the incident started and ended.

• Where: let us know the location of the incident

• What: give us full details of what happened

• Who: give us details of who was responsible, where they live, if you don’t know them describe them.

• How: did the incident affect you?

• Who: witnessed the incident

• Details: of any police officers who attended and crime numbers.

• Stick to the facts.

7. What type of enforcement action we can take?

Dependant on the nature of the complaint will determine the type of action that we will take. The options that are available to us are as follows:

• Mediation – Used where there is a dispute between neighbours. Mediation is there to bring both parties together in the presence of an independent professional mediator. Mediation requires consent from both parties and a willingness to resolve the dispute.

• Verbal/Written warnings – We will warn tenants that their actions are unacceptable and warn them regarding their future behaviour, which could lead to legal action.

• Acceptable Behaviour Commitments (ABC) – These are usually used to stop ASB caused from young people aged 10-18.  If the ASB continues we may seek an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO). If the child is aged under 10 we use Parental Control Agreements (PCA), which are similar to ABC’s.

• ASBO – Is an order from the court. It’s aim is to stop certain behaviour, it can be used on anyone who is 10 or over.  If the ASBO is breached it is a criminal offence and can result in a fine or a prison sentence of up to 5 years or a combination of both

Injunctions – Are an order from the court, they are used to make someone do something or stop them from doing something.  An injunction can be used to make a tenant comply with their tenancy conditions.  They can only be used on people over the age of 18.  If they are breach this could result in imprisonment.

• Demotion- An order from the court, which has the effect of converting a secure tenancy into a ‘demoted secure tenancy’, which has fewer rights. The order lasts for one year, after which it reverts back to a secure tenancy if no action is taken. We can apply for possession within a year of the demoted order if ASB continues; the judge has no discretion to refuse eviction.

• Possession proceedings – Used as a last resort leading to eviction. To do this we have to prove that the tenant has broken their tenancy conditions and that it is reasonable to evict them. To start possession proceedings we have to serve a notice, which differs depending on the type of tenancy:

• Notice To Terminate (NTT) is a notice that terminates an Introductory Tenancy.  The Judge has to grant us possession as long as we can demonstrate that we have followed our procedure correctly.

Notice of Seeking Possession (NOSP) a notice for Secure Tenants, the court in some cases may grant a ‘Postponed Possession Order’, which means the tenant can stay in their home so long as they do not cause anymore ASB.