Section 11 — Living alongside other people (anti-social behaviour)

What this section is about

This section is about problems between people. It covers things like noise, arguments, and behaviour that frightens or upsets someone.

Everyone has the right to feel safe in their home. That is true for you, and it is true for the people you live nearby.

Things that are not allowed

Your tenancy agreement says some things are not allowed. These are the main ones:

• frightening, threatening or hurting someone
• being abusive or insulting to someone
• damaging someone's things, or damaging the building
• using or selling illegal drugs
• keeping a weapon
• treating someone badly because of who they are — for example their race, their religion, their disability, or because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender

If any of these things are happening to you, please tell us.

What is not anti-social behaviour

Some things are just part of living near other people. They are not anti-social behaviour. For example:

• normal everyday noise, like a washing machine, footsteps, or a door closing
• children playing
• someone living differently from you
• someone being unwell, or behaving differently because of their disability

We will not treat these things as anti-social behaviour.

This is important. Many of our tenants have a disability. Sometimes a disability means a person makes noise, or gets upset, or behaves in a way that other people notice. That is not the same as choosing to behave badly. We think about this carefully every time. Section 13 explains more.

How to tell us about a problem

You can tell us in any of these ways:

1. Tell your support worker. They can tell us for you.
2. Telephone us on 0151 909 5919.
3. Email us at hello@harbourlight.org.uk.
4. Write to us at Harbour Light, 71 Linacre Road, Litherland, Merseyside, L21 8NP.
5. Ask a relative, a friend or an advocate to tell us for you.

You do not have to put it in writing. You do not have to use special words. Just tell us what happened.

If someone is in danger right now, ring the police on 999. Do not wait for us.

Can I report something without giving my name?

Yes. You can ask us not to tell anyone that it was you who told us.

We will do our best to keep your name private. Sometimes we cannot promise this completely — for example, if the matter goes to court. If that might happen, we will tell you before it does. You can then decide what you want to do.

What we will do

1. We will get back to you. We will contact you as soon as we can to say we have got your report. How quickly depends on how serious it is.
2. We will talk to you. We will ask you what has been happening and what you would like to happen.
3. We will agree a plan with you. We will write down what we are going to do and when.
4. We will keep you updated. We will keep in touch with you while we are dealing with it.
5. We will tell you when it is finished. We will explain what happened and why.

We will not just close your report without telling you.

Our Anti-social Behaviour Policy explains how we deal with reports. You can read it on our website, or ask us for a copy.

What we might do about the behaviour

We try the gentlest thing first. What we do depends on what is happening.

We might:

• talk to the person and explain the problem
• ask their support provider to help them
• arrange for someone to help the two of you talk it through
• write to the person to warn them
• ask the council or the police to help
• ask a court to tell the person to stop

Going to court is a last resort. We only do it when other things have not worked, or when something is very serious.

If we have had a report about you

If someone reports you to us, we will tell you. We will not make a decision before we have heard your side.

Here is what will happen:

1. We will contact you and explain what has been reported.
2. We will arrange a time to talk to you. You can have your support worker, a relative, a friend or an advocate with you.
3. We will listen to what you say.
4. We will think about whether your disability or your health is part of what is going on.
5. We will agree with you what happens next.

If you need help to understand or to take part, tell us. We will change how we do things so that you can. Section 13 explains this.

Asking for help is the right thing to do. If you are struggling, telling us early is the best thing you can do.

Could I lose my home?

We would only ever ask a court to end a tenancy as a last resort.

We cannot simply make you leave. We would have to go to court. A judge decides, not us.

Before it ever got that far, we would have:

• talked to you
• tried other things first
• worked with your support provider
• thought about your disability and your health

Most reports of anti-social behaviour never come close to this. Most are sorted out by people talking.

If you ever get a letter from us or from a court about your tenancy, get advice straight away. Do not ignore it. Section 3 explains where to get free advice.

If you are not happy with what we did

If you think we have not dealt with your report properly, you can complain. Section 14 explains how.

You can also complain to the Housing Ombudsman. You can go to the Housing Ombudsman yourself. You do not need anyone's permission.

If someone is being hurt

Some things are more serious than anti-social behaviour. If someone is being hurt, frightened, controlled, or having their money taken, that is a safeguarding matter.

Tell someone straight away. Section 12 explains who to tell and what happens.

You can tell us, your support worker, the council, or the police. Any of these is the right thing to do.

Getting help to understand this

If any of this is hard to understand, that is OK. Ask your support worker, a relative, a friend or an advocate.

You can ask us for this information on paper, in a bigger size, or in another format. Just ask us or ask your support worker.