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What constitutes a nuisance?
Nuisance and Anti-Social behaviour disrupt the lives of many people and often have a detrimental effect on peoples lives. Sometimes whole communities are blighted by the actions of an anti-social minority. It is a problem of great concern for both residents and Landlords.
So what are nuisance and anti-social behaviour?
Taken together these terms cover a wide range of behaviour. There are annoying and minor events like children playing games in unauthorised areas; there are also the serious matters such as burglaries, muggings and racial harassment. In between these extremes there is a wide variety. Probably the most common matter that we deal with is noise which is a constant source of complaints.
Dealing with problems yourself
What upsets you may not upset someone else and vice versa. So, the first thing to do is make the person aware that what they are doing upsets you. You need to make sure that what you are saying is objective. Try something like" I'm sorry to have to mention this but when you .....(do whatever) I ....(am affected by it). Do you think you could possibly...(do whatever needs to be done)". You need to make sure that whatever you are asking for is reasonable too.
For example...
"I'm sorry to have to mention this but...
when you play your music loud, I cannot hear my television/get to sleep. Do you think you could possibly turn it down."
or
"I'm sorry to have to mention this but...
when you have a barbecue, my washing smells of smoke. Do you think you could let me know a couple of days in advance if you are planning a barbecue. Then I can make sure I take my washing in beforehand."
Noise control
The list below gives contact details of Council schemes and their contact numbers:
Wandsworth Noise Nuisance Patrol Team 02 0 8871 7869
Sunday - Thursday Midnight - 2am
Friday pm/Saturday am 1pm - 3am
Saturday pm/Sunday am 2pm - 4amMerton Rapid Response Team 020 8748 3020 (office hours)
Monday - Friday 8am - 6pmMerton Out of Hours Noise Nuisance Patrol Team 020 8947 1212 (through police operator out of office hours)
Friday & Saturday 11pm - 4amHammersmith & Fulham 020 8748 3020 (9am - 5pm) Noise Nuisance Team 020 8748 3020 (other times)
Monday - Thursday 8am - 3am
Friday 8am - 7am
Saturday/Sunday 8.30am - 4pmGreenwich Response Team 020 8854 8888
Monday - Friday 10am - 4pmGreenwich Out of Hours Noise Nuisance Patrol Team 01399 391038
Sunday - Thursday 8pm - 1am
Friday & Saturday 8pm - 2amLambeth Regulatory Services 020 7926 6111
Monday - Friday 9am - 5pmLambeth Rapid Response Intervention Service 020 7926 5999
Sunday - Thursday 10pm - 3am
Friday/Saturday nights 10pm - 5am
Reporting a nuisance and what we will do
You can contact the Nuisance Officer who will meet with you in person to discuss the matter and go through the possible remedies available to you. In most cases the Nuisance Officer will then write to the perpetrator and visit them in person to discuss the complaint received. Often this is the end of the matter.
However, should the noise or nuisance persist, then the Nuisance Officer will set about collecting evidence to try and confirm the nuisance, for example, through liasing with Environmental Health Officers, contacting neighbours or other independent third parties.
Proving a noise nuisance is notoriously difficult and requires independent corroboration usually, although not always, from a neutral third party source.
Should the nuisance be corroborated then the Nuisance Officer will write to the perpetrator instructing them to bring to an end the nuisance complained of. Should the problem still persist then as a final option possession proceedings could be sought.
True Life Story - United neighbours evict horror family
This is a story about how a group of tenants and residents helped to evict a family that was causing neighbourhood problems. What is significant about this particular story, is that without their help, the family would still be living there, and still causing a nuisance.
The nuisance team received a phone call from a tenant. For months now, the whole family had been terrorising the neighbourhood, but no-one had known who to call to do something about it. Harding’s Nuisance Officer visited the caller and took the details down. He then went door knocking, approaching the other people in the street who were obviously being affected. No one wanted to talk to him.
Back at the office, the Nuisance Officer wrote to all the residents. 6 replied. He visited each one individually and gathered evidence of the activities of the tenant, the partner and the kids. This was serious anti-social behaviour including intimidation, threatening behaviour, assault and criminal damage to property. Even now some people still would not come forward as witnesses.
The nuisance team started working on a witness centred approach with the police and victim support. They explained the legal process of evicting the tenant and how the court system worked. Those witnesses who still felt intimated by the whole thing, were taken to visit the courtroom. They were able to stand in the witness box and see where the judge would sit and where the defendant would be.
The witnesses were always kept fully informed about how the case was progressing right along the way. Eventually, 4 witnesses attended court, gave their evidence and helped to evict the family. In summing up the judge praised the eye-witnesses for both their written testimonies and evidence given in court.
Harding won the case and was awarded an Outright Possession Order. The family who were evicted were warned in no uncertain terms, that if they carried out any form of reprisal towards the witnesses then the full weight of the law would be brought against them.
Many cases of anti-social behaviour are solved without the intervention of the law. 95% of disputes are resolved by the nuisance team without resorting to legal means. However, if you and your neighbours are victims to severe anti-social behaviour, I hope this story shows that you can do something about it. You don’t have to live in fear and we will support you entirely. We even have a contingency plan in case we do not get a Outright Possession Order. If you believe you will be victimised, we can arrange to rehouse you immediately following the court case. However, we will never take a case to court, or put anyone on the witness stand, unless we believe our case is certain.
You can contact the Nuisance team on 020 8871 3260 extns 161 or 116
E-mail:
nuisance_officer@hardinghousing.org.uk
Racial Harassment
A racist incident is ‘any incident that is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person’ (Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report).
Harding will deal with racial harassment that occurs whilst you are at home. Racial
harassment can take many forms including physical or verbal abuse, attacks on property,
racist letters and threats. The important thing is that if you believe that what is
happening to you is, or may be, racial harassment then we will investigate it. So
report it NOW!
Tackling racial harassment at an early stage has been proven to be most
effective so do not delay reporting, or hope that if you ignore it then the person or
people responsible will stop.We want to stop
harassment, whatever the motive so let us know what is happening even if you are not sure
if it is ‘racial’ harassment. We deal with all kinds of neighbour problems and
anti-social behaviour, whatever, the motive.
You do not need ‘proof’ that you are being racially harassed for us to investigate. We want to know what is happening and will offer you support and help. If we decide (with you) to take legal action against the people responsible then we will then need evidence to prove the case. You should report the harassment now, and we can begin to work on gathering evidence if necessary.
We will respect your confidentiality. We will not contact the people responsible, or pass your report to the police or any other organisation without your permission. We will encourage you to involve the Police, and to get help from support groups, but if you do not want any other organisations involved then we will respect your decision.
We can take action to make you feel safer in your home by, for example, fitting a fireproof letterbox. We can also take action against people responsible for harassment. Harding tenants who racially harass their neighbours may be evicted, for breaching their tenancy conditions.
How to report racial harassment
If you are experiencing racial harassment that affects your peace, comfort and safety in your home then you should report it to the Association by writing to the Nuisance Team and marking the envelope ‘private and confidential’ or by telephoning our RACIAL HARASSMENT HOTLINE : 0800 389 8993Other places where you can report racial harrassment:
The Police have a special Community safety Unit to investigate ‘hate crimes’- including racial harassment and racist attacks. When you report any racial incident to your local police station, they will arrange for an officer from the Community Safety Unit to carry an investigation.Wandsworth :-
Reporting Crime
020 7228 1212
Getting Support - Crime
020 8673 9949
Racial Harassment Advice
"Monitoring Group" who provide 24hr free legal advise for racial crime, telephone 0800 374 618Lambeth :-
Reporting Crime
020 8649 1212
Getting Support - Crime
Victim Support Line, telephone 0845 3030900 you can contact them on weekdays between 9.00am - 9.00pm and weekends from 9.00am to 7.00pm Victim Support Lambeth020 7820 0007
Hammersmith and Fulham:-
Racial Harassment Support Line020 8753 5930