Cookie Control Icon

Our use of cookies

We use necessary cookies to make our website work. We would also like to set analytics cookies that help us make improvements by measuring how you use the site. These will be set only if you accept.

For more detailed information about the cookies we use, see our Cookies policy.

Necessary cookies

Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.

Analytics cookies

We would like to set Google Analytics cookies to help us improve our website by collecting and reporting information on how you use it. The cookies collect information in a way that does not directly identify anyone. For more information on how these cookies work please see our Cookies policy

Advertisement cookies

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns and collect advanced analytics metrics. For more information on how these cookies work please see our Cookies policy

The Pioneer Group Anti-Social Behaviour ASB

Dealing with Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB)

Anti-social behaviour (ASB) can have a negative impact on your daily life and well-being. It includes actions such as noise, abusive behaviour, littering, or illegal drug use. If you’re experiencing ASB in your neighbourhood, it’s important to know where to turn for help.

Who Can Help?

Different organisations, including the police, local authorities, and us as your housing provider, each have different roles and responsibilities when it comes to dealing with ASB. We understand that it can be confusing to know who to contact, so we’re here to make things clearer.

This guide explains who you can contact based on the situation you’re facing. We encourage you to reach out to us if you’re experiencing ASB – we can work together to find the best solution and create a plan to address the issue.

What is Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB)?

ASB covers a range of behaviours that cause distress or harm to others, and whether something is considered ASB depends on how it affects the people around it. The more frequent or persistent the behaviour, the more likely it is to be treated as ASB.

Organisations like landlords, the police, and local authorities all consider the impact on individuals and the community when deciding how to address ASB reports.

We also have specific policies in place for dealing with domestic abuse. If you’re experiencing domestic abuse, please get in touch with us directly, as there are separate legal protections in place for this type of behaviour.

Examples of anti-social behaviour can include:

Noisy and/or Abusive Behaviour

Vandalism

Graffiti

Intimidation

Public Drunken Behaviour

Fly Tipping

Illegal Drug Use

Excessive Pet and Animal Nuisance

Some behaviour, even though it may cause nuisance to individuals, may not be regarded as ASB.

This can include:

One-Off Parties and Barbecues

Infrequent and Occasional Noise or Disturbances

Children’s Play

Occasional Dog Barking

Excessive Noise from Domestic Appliances (e.g. Washing Machines, Vacuum Cleaners)

Minor Vehicle Repairs

Gossip

Escalated Disputes

What to Do If You’re Facing Nuisance, Disturbance, or Anti-Social Behaviour

If someone’s behaviour around your home is making you uncomfortable or causing distress, the first step is to try talking to them, if it’s safe to do so. Sometimes, people may not realise their actions are having an impact, and a simple conversation can help resolve the issue. If that’s not possible or doesn’t work, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us for help and advice.

Depending on the nature and severity of the situation, we may ask you to also report the incident to the police or the Council.

Important Things to Remember

  • Record the Incident: It can be helpful to keep a record of the behaviour, including dates, descriptions, and even photos (for example, if it’s about fly-tipping). However, please don’t photograph or video other people unless instructed by an agency like the police or the Council.
  • Your Safety Comes First: If you ever feel threatened or believe your safety (or others’) is at risk, contact the police immediately. For emergencies, call 999, and for non-emergencies, call 101.
  • Let Us Know: After contacting the police, please let us know. We may also be able to take action or offer support, and we may need to involve other partners to help resolve the situation.

Silent Solution Guide

If you can’t speak safely when calling the police during an emergency, click here for the Silent Solution Guide.

Has a Crime Taken Place?

  • If a crime is happening now, and someone’s life or property is at risk, call 999 immediately.
  • If it’s not an emergency but a crime has occurred, call 101.

If a Crime Hasn’t Taken Place, Can You Resolve the Situation Yourself?

If you can, please try to handle the situation safely. If you’re unable to resolve it, contact us for advice, and we’ll guide you through your options.

Working Together for Solutions

To provide the best support, we may need to work with the Council or the police, as they have different responsibilities and legal powers to tackle certain types of anti-social behaviour.

Remember: If you’re facing persistent anti-social behaviour, you have the right to request a multi-agency review of your case if there have been at least three qualifying complaints within a six-month period.

Who to Contact?

We will explain if the case is our responsibility, what information we need from you, and what help we can provide, and keep you updated until your case has been closed.

Help is available from other agencies, such as your Council or the police, and we will signpost you to them if you need help. Other agencies have different powers and responsibilities to help. We can also put you in touch with services such as Victim Support, if needed.

What can we do to help?

There are two approaches we can take:

  • using non-legal solutions:
    • advising people their behaviour is unacceptable and must stop
    • issuing direct warnings
    • acceptable behaviour agreements
    • referral to mediation or other support services, such as the Supporting Families programme that supports vulnerable families.
  • using legal remedies such as:
    • civil injunctions
    • possession proceedings

Tenancy agreements set out our expectations about the behaviour of tenants. We can take action against people who do not comply if we can gather evidence, and we have the right to seek to evict a tenant in serious cases.

If we decide to take legal action, you might be asked to help by providing evidence or to attend a court to give evidence in person. We will support you through this process. Alternatively, we may be able to use a professional witness to provide evidence in court on your behalf.

Civil injunctions

We can seek civil injunctions through the courts to stop people engaging in acts of anti-social behaviour in a specific location. Some injunctions can be given without notice, but they are only available if there has been a threat or use of violence.

Possession proceedings

In serious cases, we may be able to evict the perpetrator of anti-social behaviour through the courts. We are expected to take this action as a last resort only, where all other reasonable steps to stop the behaviour have failed. In these cases it is up to a Judge to decide if there is enough evidence to evict a tenant and the courts have the final decision.

Local authorities can help if anti-social behaviour is happening in buildings or on land that we as a landlord do not own or control, or the problem has an environmental impact (e.g. air quality, contamination of land, noise pollution, fly tipping).

You can use the links below to report the following issues directly to your local authority if they happen on land or buildings that are not owned or controlled by us:

The police are a key partner in tackling anti-social behaviour. They can act as a highly visible deterrent to perpetrators and their presence can also provide reassurance to affected communities.

The police’s core responsibilities include protecting life and property, preserving order, preventing the committing of offences, and bringing offenders to justice.

The police may need to work with us and local authorities to:

  • arrest perpetrators
  • prevent and deter incidents from taking place
  • support victims
  • protect people from the impact of anti-social behaviour.

Locally, police officers have the responsibility for working with partners at the community level to develop sustainable solutions to anti-social behaviour issues. They are often supported by Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) who provide a visible patrolling presence to deter crime. They can be approached by anyone with concerns about anti-social behaviour or crime in their area.

You may be able to report anti-social behaviour directly to your local police force via their online portal. Find information about contacting the police

Partners, especially the Council and the police, have powers available under The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

These powers include:

  • Criminal Behaviour Orders– issued by a criminal court against a person who has been convicted of an offence and is causing anti-social behaviour.
  • Dispersal Powers– this allows police officers to order a person who is causing harassment, alarm, or distress to leave a specific area for up to 48 hours.
  • Community Protection Notices– local authorities, the police, and sometimes social landlords can issue Community Protection Notices to address a wide range of problems such as littering and noise nuisance.
  • Public Space Protection Orders– used by local authorities to prevent behaviour and nuisance that is persistent, unreasonable and/or detrimental.
  • Closure Orders– a court order which closes down properties that are causing a serious nuisance, disorder, or criminal behaviour. This means there is a temporary ban on occupying the property.

Noise from neighbours is one of the most common anti-social behaviour complaints.

Sometimes people don’t know they’re causing a problem, so it’s well worth speaking to them directly, if it is safe to do so, before you get anyone else involved.

We may be able to work with you to solve the issue if our tenant is causing the problem.

Local authorities have specific powers to deal with noise pollution. Their environmental health teams can investigate noise complaints and take action to help, including issuing noise abatement orders or community protection notices, which set out what the person causing the noise must do to stop the nuisance. If they do not comply, they could face further legal action. Sometimes, a visit by your local authority’s environmental health team, and/or a warning letter, can solve the problem.

Hate incidents or hate crimes can be acts of anti-social behaviour, where the behaviours are felt, by the victim or others, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on disability, race, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

How to report hate incident or hate crime

If you are the victim of a hate incident, hate crime, or have received a serious threat of this nature you should report it to the police, either by calling 101, 999 in an emergency or online at the hate crime reporting website True Vision www.report-it.org.uk. True Vision allows you to report hate crime as a victim or witness online without the need to visit a police station.

Find general information on hate crime

Victims of persistent anti-social behaviour, who don’t think they have had a satisfactory response to their reports of ASB, have the right to ask for a multi-agency review of their case. Certain thresholds must be met for cases to qualify for ASB case reviews, which are also known as the Community Trigger. If you are concerned about our response, you do not need to wait for this to happen – you should use our complaints procedure to tell us of your concerns.

During an ASB case review, agencies will consider the action taken so far and will come together to try to find a solution. Agencies taking part are known as responsible bodies. They include local authorities, the police, NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups in England, and registered providers of social housing (mostly housing associations).

The review body (normally your Council) must keep applicants informed of the progress of the case, including:

  • the decision on whether the threshold is met for the review to go ahead;
  • the result of the review; and,
  • any recommendations made as a result of the review.

More information on the community trigger can be found here.

What is the threshold for a case review?

You can apply for an ASB case review, but your local authority will decide whether the review will take place.

They will look at things like:

  • the number of incidents you have reported and the frequency of reports to agencies, such as the local authority, police or your landlord
  • the effectiveness of their responses
  • and the potential harm of the anti-social behaviour to you or the victim.

Requesting a case review

You can ask for an anti-social behaviour case review by contacting Birmingham City Council. Requests for a review may come directly from the victims or from a third party (with the victim’s permission), such as a family member, friend, or a local elected representative (e.g. your councillor or MP).

Outcome of the review

Once the panel has ended its review of your case, you will be informed of the result. Where further actions are necessary, an action plan will be discussed with you, setting out timescales for actions that have been agreed.

You can appeal to the review body if you are not happy with the way the review process was carried out or with the decision on whether the threshold was met.

Please talk to us if you need further advice. You can call us on 0121 748 8100 or email us at contactus@pioneergroup.org.uk

You can also get further help and advice from a range of different organisations such as: