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. This page explains:
- The support and actions we will take if you report anti-social behaviour to us
- What anti-social behaviour is and is not
- Information on hate crime
You can report anti-social behaviour to us 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.
- You can also 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.
More information about anti-social behaviour
Anti-social behaviour
The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, defines anti-social 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
What anti-social behaviour is and what it isn’t…
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
How we will support you…
- Communicating with you in your preferred method
- Responding sensitively and adopting high standards of confidentiality
- Prioritising resolving any anti-social behaviour
- Supporting you and the alleged perpetrators, and focusing on finding a solution
- Working collaboratively with external partners
- Recording the case on our IT system, so we have a record of what we have agreed with you
- Being 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)
When you report anti-social behaviour, this is the action we will take…
Firstly, we will complete an initial risk assessment to categorise the severity of each anti-social behaviour case and:
- 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 also 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?
As we take your anti-social behaviour case forward 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.
When we close a case we will…
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
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.
