Anti-social behaviour - information for tenants

The following information answers frequently asked questions about anti-social behaviour.

What is anti-social behaviour?

Anti-social behaviour is not just about extreme forms of behaviour such as violence or verbal abuse. It can be less obvious than that and include any of the following:

  • loud noises (e.g. from music or televisions)

  • uncontrolled ball games

  • shouting, swearing, screaming and banging

  • slamming doors

  • noisy or unruly dogs.

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What are my responsibilities as a tenant?

Your Tenancy Agreement is a legal contract between you and Woking Borough Council. It says that a tenant is responsible for their own behaviour and the behaviour of anyone living with them or visiting them. Your responsibilities as a tenant are explained to you when you are signed up with the Council.

The relevant clauses in your Tenancy Agreement are in 4. Your Responsibilities Anti-social behaviour 4.1 - 4.5.

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What do I do if I have an anti-social neighbour?

As an individual

  • Try talking to your neighbour to see if the problem can be sorted out between you.

  • Agree to use mediation services to help find a quick solution to the problem.

  • Follow our procedure to report anti-social behaviour - it's simple and quick to do. Just complete an incident sheet with the key details. These are:

What (happened)

When (did it happen)

Where (did it happen)

Who (caused the nuisance)

How (did it affect you personally)

  • Contact the police to report serious incidents of assault or criminal damage.

  • Contact Environmental Health if you are reporting noise nuisance, unruly dogs, pollution or similar sorts of anti-social behaviour, as well as contacting Housing Services. An Environmental Health Officer may be able to serve a Noise Abatement Notice to legally stop noise nuisance.

  • Seek your own legal advice. Make yourself aware of your rights and think about taking your own legal action. Free legal advice can be given by the Citizens Advice Burea.

As a community

  • Set your own standards of behaviour and rules. These standards are more likely to be accepted and met if the community has agreed to them. Contact Tenant and Leaseholder Services if you would like to set up a residents group.

  • Provide services and activities for young people. This can greatly reduce anti-social behaviour. Contact Independent Living Services for advice.

  • Work with the local police in reporting crime and hot spots for anti-social behaviour. Always report this to them so that they can map incidents and target hot spots.              

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What happens when I report anti-social behaviour to the Council?

If you are a Council tenant, or you are complaining about one, please contact your Housing Officer.

For reports to your Housing Officer:

We will need to find out basic details about the anti-social behaviour you are reporting and will ask you to use incident sheets to record this information.

Using your incident sheets, and talking to other agencies (such as the Police and/or Community Safety) we will see what action we can take as your landlord. We will also tell you what action you may need to take yourself.

We may use digital recording devices to record noise nuisance. We may also use professional witnesses under The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 when it is appropriate to do so.

The Council is a signatory to the Surrey Information Sharing Protocol. If the anti-social behaviour is seen to be impacting on crime and disorder locally, then the perpetrator(s) may be referred to the Woking Community Incident Action Group (CIAG) which looks at the best way to resolve individual cases. Alternatively, the Joint Action Group (JAG) considers area-based anti-social behaviour. For more information see [Web link Safer Woking Partnership].

At some point we will need to interview the perpetrator to discuss your reports. If you do not allow us to do this, we will not be able to progress your complaints.

If the anti-social behaviour is not directed at anyone in particular, but you would like to report, for instance, groups of people causing a disturbance in a particular location, you can also contact the Safer Woking Partnership for advice (web link).

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If I report my anti-social neighbour to the Council, will my neighbour know I reported them?

If you report an anti-social neighbour to the Council we will not reveal your details at any stage to your neighbour or to any other agency, unless you give us your permission to do so. Staff at the Council will explain to you what information is required and how it will be disclosed. They will also tell you how the Council can protect your identity.

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What action can the Council take against someone behaving in an anti-social manner?

The following measures can be taken against someone behaving anti-socially. The action taken will depend on the severity of the act.

1. Mediation: Woking Mediation Service  offers a confidential, impartial mediation service that can easily solve many incidences of misunderstanding or anti-social behaviour.                                       

2. Injunction: An injunction is a civil remedy which is obtained through the County Court. It states what a person may or may not do. Some injunctions have a power of arrest attached, so that the person may be prosecuted for not keeping to the terms of the injunction.

3. Notice to Seek Possession (NOSP) or Notice to Quit (NTQ): These are documents served by the landlord upon a tenant depending on the type of tenancy.  It is the first formal stage in informing a tenant that some terms of the tenancy agreement have been broken. Unless this is resolved by the tenant in 28 days, legal action may follow. The legal action usually takes the form of seeking a Possession Order.

4. Possession Order: A social landlord can apply to the County Court for an order for possession. There are several types of order, from `suspended' to allow the tenant to put things right to `outright' where the Council can apply for eviction immediately.

5. Demoted Tenancies: The Council can apply to the County Court for a Demotion Order. If a secure tenancy is demoted then, for a period of one year, the tenant has some rights reduced and repossession during that year becomes easier.

6. Acceptable Behaviour Contract: This is a written agreement between an individual and the landlord. Other signatory organisations may be the Police or Probation Services.

7. Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO): These are obtained in the Magistrates' Court or in a County Court (if associated with a breach of tenancy conditions). They can be made against anyone over 10 years of age and who has acted in "a manner that causes or was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household as himself". They are most likely to be obtained through CIAG.

8. Housing Act 1996 Exclusion from the Waiting List: This legislation allows local authorities to exclude certain categories of people from the Housing Register. For example, people with a record of serious anti-social behaviour.

  • Suspending the Right to Buy: we can apply to court to do this if we are in the process of taking formal legal action against the applicant for anti-social behaviour.

  • Refusing a mutual exchange: we can do this if any of the formal legal remedies are active against you or a member of your family at the time of your application to exchange

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What steps does the Council take to reduce anti-social behaviour?

Woking Borough Council is committed to tackling all forms of anti-social behaviour by tenants, leaseholders and members of their family or visitors to their home.

The Council also seeks to maintain residents' rights to a quiet and peaceful home.

To raise awareness of anti-social behaviour, the Council:

  • Advise tenants and leaseholders of the terms and conditions of their tenancy agreement or licence when it is first signed.

  • Visit all new tenants within 28 days of signing a tenancy and, where appropriate, remind them of their responsibilities.

  • Use `Streetwise' magazine and other ways to publicise the issue of anti-social behaviour and keep readers up to date with the Government's Respect Standard in Housing Management.

  • Promote good relationships with groups and individuals within the community and work closely with other agencies (e.g. the Police, Social Care, Community Safety Officers and voluntary groups).

  • Encourage residents groups to consider estate based environmental improvements to help combat anti-social behaviour.

The Council also tries to work with perpetrators by:

  • Referring to other agencies for support.

  • Working with youth.

  • Offering support and advice.

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Contact us

If you would like to report an anti-social neighbour or get more information about anti-social behaviour please contact us at:

For Council tenants

Tenant & Leaseholder Services at the Civic Offices, telephone 01483 743629 or email tenantandleaseholderservices@woking.gov.uk

Please see our  Tenant and Leaseholder Services Service Standard on Anti-Social Behaviour for more information.

For Borough-wide issues

Safer Woking Partnership, at the Civic Offices, telephone 01483 755855 or communitysafety@woking.gov.uk