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Antisocial Behaviour
Colchester Borough Homes is committed to tackling antisocial behaviour — you have the right to a decent quality of life in your local community.
Help us to help you
If you have any problems with neighbours, just follow this simple checklist:
- Tell the Police immediately if, for example, you have been assaulted or threatened.
- To begin with, talk to your neighbour and see if the problem can be sorted out between you.
- Once you have spoken to your neighbour, allow a reasonable time before doing anything more, to see if there is an improvement.
- If you decide that you would like us to try to help, please contact the Tenancy Enforcement and Support Team who will register your problem. They will advise you and pass the case to the Tenancy Enforcement Officer (TEO) for your area.
- Your Tenancy Enforcement Officer will contact you and dependent on the complaint arrange to interview you.
- We may not be able to help resolve all disagreements between neighbours. In some cases we may refer you to a free and confidential service that provides trained 'mediators' who will try to help you and your neighbour to talk about your situation. Mediators are independent and will not take sides. They work with both parties, not for them.
- Once we have spoken to you, we will agree an action plan. This may include speaking to your neighbour, starting legal action, asking you to keep a record of the situation over a period of time, or no further action.
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If you are a victim of hate crime, for example racism, homophobia or disabilism, then you can report and/or record these incidents to the police via this website. Please also remember to report it to Tenancy Enforcement Team on 0808 220 3333 or 01206 506973.
Classifying anti-social behaviour
Our Policy on antisocial behaviour classifies neighbour nuisance/antisocial behaviour into one of four broad categories:
Category A - extreme antisocial behaviour
This category will include cases such as drug dealing, assault and violence. Racial harassment would also fall within this category. Your Tenancy Enforcement Officer will interview you immediately, preferably on the day the complaint is received and certainly within two working days.
Category B - Serious antisocial behaviour
This will include cases of threatening or abusive behaviour, frequent serious disturbances or vandalism and damage to property. Your Tenancy Enforcement Officer will interview you within two working days.
Category C - nuisance cases
This will include cases of excessive noise; family disputes affecting neighbours, control of pets, behaviour of visitors or children (unless this is extreme or serious and falls within categories A or B) and infrequent disturbances. Your Tenancy Enforcement Officer will interview you within five working days.
Category D - other breaches of tenancy
This category includes complaints about stair/bin cleaning, condition of gardens, parking, vehicles and litter. The Tenancy Enforcement Officer will forward your complaint to the Tenancy Management Officer for your area. It may not always be necessary to interview you, however you will receive a letter of acknowledgement within ten working days and advised of any action.
Squatters
If you believe squatters are occupying a Council property then please contact us by:
- Telephoning our Tenancy Enforcement and Support Team on 0808 220 3333 (Freephone) or 01206 506973.
- E-mail the information to us at cbh@colchester.gov.uk providing brief details including the address of the property you believe is affected, along with your name and a convenient contact number.
The team Tenancy Enforcement Support Team (T.E.S.T) will:
- co-ordinate a multi-agency response to tackle the causes and consequences of antisocial behaviour
- co-ordinate the legal remedies, such as Acceptable Behaviour Contracts, Injunctions, Antisocial Behaviour Orders and Possession Proceedings.
- In serious cases support tenant and leaseholder witnesses/victims while there is any risk of recurrence or reprisal
You can find out more about the specific way in which a case of anti-social behaviour was dealt with by Colchester Borough Homes at the Together - Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour website hosted by the Home Office.
Hate Crimes
There is a broad definition of hate crimes. It includes crimes where a person's prejudice against an identifiable group of people is a factor in their choice of a victim. Crimes which fall into this category include:
- Racist crimes.
- Homophobic crimes.
- Crimes against disabled people.
- Crimes against members of certain religious faiths.
- Crimes against people of a certain gender.
Colchester Borough Homes takes allegations and incidents of hate crime very seriously. We will help any council tenant or leaseholder who is the victim of a hate crimes. If you are the victim of hate crime, contact the Tenancy Enforcement and Support Team. You should also contact the police. Below is some guidance on how we deal with allegations of racial harassment.
If you, your family or any visitor to your home, threaten, abuse or insult your neighbours in a racist way you risk prosecution. In serious cases you could lose your home.
Download our Hate Crime leaflet.
For more advice, contact our Tenancy Enforcement and Support Team on 0808 220 3333 (Freephone) or 01206 506973
If you would like to report an incident of anti-social behaviour online, please fill in the form below:
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