Anti-social behaviour
Anti-social behaviour is defined as:
To be considered anti-social behaviour it must also be a persistent pattern of behaviour, which means that it must have happened multiple times; although four events spread over a number of years may also be considered persistent.
The following are examples of activities that may be classed as anti-social behaviour if persistent:
- dog fouling, uncontrolled and noisy pets
- inconsiderate or dangerous parking and abandoned cars
- noise nuisance at high levels or unreasonable hours
- environmental health issues such as rubbish dumping
- vandalism and graffiti
- drug misuse, alcohol-related nuisance and prostitution
- hate incidents motivated by someone’s age, disability, faith, sexual orientation or race
What steps can I take to deal with this?
If you are satisfied that there is reliable evidence of a tenant engaging in anti-social behaviour, then the first thing you should do is communicate with the tenant. You should state what the behaviour is, that it is unacceptable, and that the tenant is in breach of their tenancy agreement by behaving in this way. You should then give the tenant sufficient time to respond.
If the issue is particularly serious, and you are not able to resolve the problem yourself, you may need to contact the police or the local authority's anti-social behaviour team. The local authority will have a duty to investigate and the ability to exercise a number of different powers in these situations.
Eviction
You should not seek to go down the eviction route unless all other options have been exhausted. If you do need to go down the eviction route, then you can rely either on a section 21 notice or a section 8 notice.
The section 21 notice is a no fault notice, meaning that you will not need to show evidence of anti-social behaviour. This cannot be used to end the tenancy within the fixed term, unless in accordance with a break clause.
The other option is to rely on a section 8 notice. This route is more complex as you will have to show significant evidence of persistent anti-social behaviour, which may need to include evidence from the police and/or local authority. You will also need evidence that attempts were made to resolve the issues with the tenant prior to starting the process. There will likely be a number of hearings to determine the validity of the evidence provided. We strongly recommend that you take independent legal advice before pursuing this.
The section 8 process can also be used for situations where the tenant has been convicted for using the premises for illegal/immoral purposes.
Information on this site is by way of general guidance only and may not apply in your particular circumstances. You should not act or refrain from acting upon information on this site without seeking independent legal advice.