How to report antisocial behaviour

Antisocial behaviour, or ASB, are actions that cause upset, distress, alarm or make you feel harassed.

Everyone has the right to enjoy their home in peace, so we take reports of ASB very seriously.

We’ll do everything that we can to help you feel safe and comfortable in your home and neighbourhood. If ASB is affecting you, here’s what you should do.

In an emergency, always dial 999.

Before you report ASB to us, you should check that it’s something we can take action on. If we don’t consider it ASB, unfortunately we won’t be able to help.

We can help you with things going on in your neighbourhood that we class as ASB. However, not all actions that make you feel distressed are considered ASB by our team, even if they can be very upsetting to experience.

Is domestic abuse considered ASB?

While we take domestic abuse extremely seriously, it’s not considered ASB, even if overhearing it feels like it could constitute a noise complaint.

This is because using our ASB procedure to deal with a situation as sensitive as domestic abuse wouldn’t be appropriate, and could even make things worse in some situations.

Instead, we have dedicated domestic abuse officers who are trained to identify signs of domestic abuse and respond in the best way.

On rare occasions, we might use our ASB tools for domestic abuse cases, but this will always be done in a considered way where we’ve assessed the risks and spoken to our partner organisations.

Find out more on our Safeguarding and domestic abuse page.

Do neighbour disputes count as ASB?

A neighbour dispute is when two or more people living near one another disagree on things like the boundaries of their homes, lifestyle differences, conflicting opinions or issues involving social media. There’s not always a clear victim or perpetrator.

We don’t usually count neighbour disputes alone as ASB. For us to be able to take action, one of the parties will need to be doing something that would be considered ASB, like hate crime, graffiti or threatening you.

How do you decide what is and isn't ASB?

To decide what is and isn’t ASB, we use the definition set out in Part 1 of the Antisocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014: “conduct capable of causing housing-related nuisance or annoyance to any person.”

We do this because we understand that everyone’s different when it comes to what they think is and isn’t acceptable behaviour.

This means that sometimes we’ll receive reports from people who believe they’re experiencing ASB, but we can’t help, as the actions they describe don’t meet our criteria for ASB.

If you’re experiencing ASB, we’re here to help – let us know now.

When you make your report, make sure you’ve given us as much detail as possible. Consider keeping track of what’s happening with an evidence diary where you document when and where the ASB is happening.

Report ASB now through My Account

For out-of-hours reports, you can contact us on our ASB Respect Line on 0800 075 6699 every day between 5pm and 9am.

Here’s a breakdown of ASB, including what it is, how you should report it, and what we can do to help.

In some cases, we recommend contacting the police, then passing over your crime reference number to us along with the name of the person who took your call.

In an emergency or if you witness someone committing a crime, always dial 999. In a non-emergency situation, dial 101.

You can also report crime to the police online or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

We review every report of ASB we receive and then take action depending on the unique circumstances. 

To decide how to respond, we have a reasonableness test that takes into account:

●    the intention behind the behaviour
●    the root cause of the behaviour (e.g. health or lifestyle factors)
●    how often it's happening
●    how long it’s been happening 
●    what time of day it happens

This approach helps us respond fairly and proportionately to your reports. 

We’ll assign your case to a dedicated officer who’ll carry out a thorough investigation, and we might speak to other organisations like the police, social services or community mental health teams. 

How soon we get back to you depends on how serious the ASB you’ve reported is.

We’ll respond:

●    within 1 working day for very serious ASB like violence or hate crime
●    within 3 working days for serious ASB like drug misuse or verbal abuse
●    within 5 working days for other ASB like noise complaints or vehicle nuisance

We’ll get in touch with you to agree on an action plan and give you a copy so you can track its progress. You’ll also be assigned a named officer, who’ll support you as we work to resolve your ASB case. 

We’ll also: 

●    identify any risks or support needs you might have
●    carry out a fair, thorough investigation to search for a practical solution 
●    be open and honest with you on what we’re able to do to help
●    keep you updated as often as you need, so you won’t need to chase us 

How we’ll resolve your case

To resolve your ASB case, we might explore approaches like acceptable behaviour agreements, mediation, or legal action, depending on the nature and severity of the issue. If necessary, we’ll work with the police and other agencies.

There are several different outcomes that we may aim for, including:
 

●     Early and informal intervention

●     Formal intervention

●     Support services

●     Legal action

Download our What We Will Do info [DOC] to find out more about the steps we’ll take.

We’ll aim to resolve your issue in a reasonable timeframe and to your satisfaction, and will only close your case after discussing it with you and confirming the outcome in writing.

We know ASB can affect people differently, so if vulnerable residents are concerned, we’ll work with support agencies to make sure the right protections are in place.

If you’ve repeatedly reported ASB and no action has been taken, then you can ask for an Antisocial Behaviour Case Review through your local council. These used to be called community triggers.

This allows you or someone acting on your behalf to ask for a review of the responses you’ve received. It can be used no matter which agency is investigating an ASB case.

Find your local council now on GOV.uk

Find out more about ASB case reviews on GOV.uk

You can’t use an ASB case review to make a complaint to us about how we’ve handled your ASB report. Instead, you’ll need to follow our standard complaints procedure.

Go to our Complaints page