Frequently asked questions
What is 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
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 don’t SYHA class as anti-social behaviour?
We will not take action from reports of different lifestyles or every-day living situations which are not intended to cause nuisance or annoyance. These include:
- 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
My neighbour is causing me regular nuisance, can’t you just evict or move them?
We cannot ‘move’ or evict one of our customers without a court order. Only a judge has the power to do this if they deem it appropriate and proportionate on the evidence we have provided and following legal advice. Our focus will always be on resolving the anti-social behaviour issue and supporting customers to change their behaviour.
When I report anti-social behaviour, will I be anonymous and can I ask you not to disclose my details to anyone?
We will always keep your details confidential. We comply with the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). This sets out requirements for ensuring your data is properly protected and only shared in a lawful way.
If you choose to report anti-social behaviour anonymously we aren’t able to provide you with updates on the actions we’re taking to resolve the issue. It can also make anti-social behaviour cases more difficult to investigate and resolve, for example we wouldn’t be able to ask complainants for regular updates.
Please be aware that in some cases, the alleged perpetrator may be able to identify who has made the complaint. For example, if you are reporting persistent loud music and live in the only adjoining property.
What type of evidence do I need if I report anti-social behaviour and how can I provide it?
Evidence is crucial to support your complaint. Here are some examples of evidence you can provide:
- Diary sheets – detailing incident details (dates, times, type of behaviour, impact on your wellbeing) which we will provide
- Photos or videos – if safe and legal to obtain
- Noise recordings – for example, from the Local Authority’s Environmental Health Team
- CCTV footage – if available and compliant with privacy laws
- Incident / crime reference numbers – when also reporting incidents to the police or other relevant agencies
You can share evidence with SYHA by email or via a suitable app (an example is WeTransfer). We can also arrange to collect evidence from your home, another agreed venue, or you can visit our office in Sheffield. You can also post your evidence to us.
What are diary sheets and why is completing them important?
We will provide you with diary sheets so that you can accurately record the relevant details of anti-social behaviour incidents. These logs help to:
- Confirm the nature, frequency and impact of the anti-social behaviour
- Build a timeline of incidents and events
- Support SYHA’s case owner to build, assess and progress your case
- Provide credible witness evidence, if legal action is needed.
If SYHA takes action against my neighbour, will you always share the details with me?
SYHA will keep you updated on the progress of your case and typically this is a minimum of every two weeks. However, due to privacy laws, we may not always be able to share specific details with you.
For anti-social behaviour cases where legal action is necessary, this usually enables us to share more detailed information with you, especially if you have provided SYHA with witness evidence for court.
When I report anti-social behaviour, what additional support is available to me?
We will 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.
Does SYHA work with other agencies to investigate anti-social behaviour complaints?
This depends on the nature of the case. Most commonly we work in partnership with:
- Police (for criminal behaviour and serious anti-social behaviour incidents)
- Environmental Health (for noise and other types of nuisance)
- Community Mental Health teams (where additional support is required)
- Safeguarding teams (where abuse or neglect is reported or suspected).
Can I request a case review if I am not happy that my case has been closed?
If you are a victim of persistent anti-social behaviour, you have the right to request a case review. An 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.
How does SYHA prevent anti-social behaviour?
When someone applies for one of our homes, we ask for references from their previous landlord where appropriate. We make sure new customers understand what anti-social behaviour is, and how to report it.
We regularly inspect and maintain communal areas and land to prevent fly tipping and damage as this can sometimes lead to anti-social behaviour.
Is hate crime different to anti-social behaviour?
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.
I suspect my neighbour’s CCTV camera is recording my property, what action can you take?
This is not something we class as being anti-social behaviour so we would not take action. We have information about CCTV and video doorbells on our website.
We advise customers to report their concerns to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) which regulates and enforces the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). The ICO’s website has more information about home CCTV systems.
