What is anti-social behaviour? 

Anti-social behaviour (ASB) is any action that causes harm, distress or alarm to others in the community. It can affect individuals, families and neighbourhoods, making it difficult for people to feel safe and enjoy their homes. 

Not all disputes between neighbours count as anti-social behaviour. For example, lifestyle differences or occasional noise from daily activities may not be considered ASB

    • Abusive behaviour and intimidation towards an individual or community
    • Regular loud and persistent noise
    • Fly-tipping
    • Dog fouling
    • Vandalism, arson and graffiti
    • Illegal drug use
    • Occasional noise such as children playing, babies crying, vacuuming, or dogs barking
    • Noise of everyday living like opening and closing doors, going up and down stairs or a person who works night shifts being disrupted from daytime noise
    • Lifestyle differences due to culture
    • Comments made on social media sites

Your toolkit for reporting:

Noise nuisances can be irritating

However, noises that are one-off or are considered normal 'living noises' are not seen to be anti-social behaviour.

If you're experiencing a noise nuisance, then we'll need to assess whether the noise you report is ASB. To do this, we'll need to consider: what is causing the noise, its frequency, the time of day it happens and the intensity of the noise.

Our Customer Services Team will provide you with diary sheets to complete for a period of two weeks for you to capture the concerns you are experiencing. After the two weeks, you can return your completed diary sheets by either posting them to Eastlight Community Homes, Eastlight House, Charter Way, Braintree, Essex, CM77 8FG or emailing them to customer.services@eastlighthomes.co.uk. The team will then review them and provide you with a guidance on the next steps.

Noise in relation to dogs will only be considered ASB if the noise is persistent. You may wish to speak to your neighbour first, as they may not be aware of the nuisance being caused. If you're still being disturbed, please contact your local Environmental Health Officer. 

Watch the video below for more guidance on noise nuisances

If you are unable to view this video, please click the shield icon on the bottom, left-hand-side of this page and allow ‘Targeting cookies'.

4:22 YouTube

Most of the time, people don't realise they are being inconsiderate and are not being intentional.

So, in many cases, politely talking with your neighbour about your concerns can resolve many minor problems before they get out of control. 

You could say: 

  • "Hope you don’t mind me mentioning but your music’s been a bit loud in the evenings lately. I know you're just trying to relax but it’s been a bit tricky to sleep at times. Would you mind keeping it down a bit in the evenings/at night? I'd really appreciate it."

  • "I’ve noticed your dog’s been barking quite a bit lately. I know dogs do that - and he/she’s lovely - but it’s been happening quite a lot and it’s been a bit noisy. Thought I’d mention it just in case you hadn’t noticed."

  • "Just wanted to mention that your car’s been a bit close to my space recently and it’s made it a bit tricky for me to get in/out. I’m sure it’s not on purpose but I thought I'd just give you a heads-up."

  • Three people are sat at a desk. You can see their hands above the desk.

    Help with difficult conversations

    If you feel uncomfortable speaking to your neighbour, and if both parties are willing, we can offer support to help you talk things through and find a solution that works for everyone.

    We work closely with Essex Restorative Justice who can help the person responsible for anti-social behaviour see the real impact their actions are having on the people impacted by their actions. 

    It also gives those experiencing ASB the chance to tell the responsible person how they feel and how they can move forward.

    If you'd like us to help you with a referral, please call our Customer Services Team on 0330 128 0330.

    Find out more about Restorative Justice here

If the problem continues...

Report anti-social behaviour and/or a hate crime to us

If you've already tried speaking to your neighbour about the issue and the problem continues you can report the issues to us. 

Report to us using this form here.

Please give as much factual information as you can about the issue, including the impact the behaviour and incidents are having on your life.

There are a number of steps you can take to help us progress the issue. These include:

  • Following our guide on nuisance noise here.
  • Providing us with full details of who you are and where you live to ensure that we can provide you with the best support and outcome. If you wish to make an anonymous complaint and the report is of a criminal nature, like a hate crime, we will contact the police in order to investigate.
  • Providing witness statements, where possible. For a small number of high risk anti-social behaviour cases, we may need to make an application to court to seek legal remedies. In these cases, we would encourage victims to provide witness statements and be prepared to attend court. Eastlight will support you throughout the whole process.

We will work with you and our partner agencies to seek evidence, while taking a reasonable and proportionate approach to resolving the issue. We will not be able to evict your neighbour in the first instance. 

If you're concerned about someone's safety and welfare, please contact us. Find out more about safeguarding here.

What happens when I report ASB to you?
  • We will respond to your phone calls within 48 hours and your emails within five working days.
  • We will listen to your problem and complete a risk assessment with you. This will help us decide what action needs to be taken. 
  • We will be open and honest with you. If the issue is not anti-social behaviour or a hate crime, we will provide you with information and guidance to help you resolve it. 
  • If what you are experiencing is anti-social behaviour and/or a hate crime, we will investigate.
  • We will agree an action plan with you.
  • We will keep you updated on the case at a frequency which suits you. 
  • We will (subject to the level of risk and situation type) ask that you consider mediation to resolve low-level neighbour disputes.
  • We aim to support all victims, while taking a strong stance against proven high-risk perpetrators.
  • We will work closely with the Police, local councils and, where necessary, specialist organisations to help seek resolutions.

 

How long will it take to resolve the issues I'm having?

The time it takes to resolve these issues can vary significantly depending on the nature and complexity of each case.

Some concerns can be addressed quickly through informal resolution or support while others, particularly those requiring formal action, may take longer due to the need for investigation, evidence gathering and sometimes legal involvement.

Providing clear and detailed evidence (such as dates, times, photos or recordings) can help speed up the process and strengthen the case.

We may also need to work in partnership with agencies like the police or local authorities which can impact the timeline.

But we'll keep you informed every step of the way and work with you to achieve a positive outcome as swiftly as possible.

What is a Community Trigger and how does it work?

If you have reported an ASB or hate crime incident three or more times to any agency within a six month period, or you can activate the Community Trigger (also known as ASB Case Review) through your local authority. 

This has been designed to give you, the victim, the right to demand that agencies deal with persistent anti-social behaviour and hate crimes.

We are committed to working alongside you and our partners to understand when failures happen and will always engage with the relevant local authority when requested to do so.

Can I report a different way, or anonymously?

If you don't want to speak to someone at Eastlight about your incident, then we encourage you to visit CrimeStoppers and find out more information via their website page here.

There, you are able to report any incidents anonymously. Click here to report.

We advise you to view their website terms and the information CrimeStoppers are able to process, before reporting.

Reporting Anti-Social Behaviour and/or Hate Crimes Form

Please fill in the following form. If the section is marked with a *, that means you must fill it in so that we have the information we need to respond as quickly as possible.

If you need any support to complete this online form, or would rather contact us a different way, then please click here to get in touch.

Details of the person/s causing the problem

Have you contacted another agency? * ie. Police / Social Services / Environmental Services / Dog Wardens etc.
ie. Police / Social Services / Environmental Services / Dog Wardens etc.
When would you prefer us to contact you? *
Do you have any specific communication needs we need to be aware of? *
Do you require communication to be provided in an alternative format (eg. British Sign Language, different language, large print, Braille or audio CD)? *