Reporting antisocial behaviour

We want to stop ASB happening to our customers and their visitors, and we also want this to stop happening to the people who work for us.

We take all reports of antisocial behaviour seriously and we will always act where necessary to protect the interests of our customers, communities and colleagues.

You can help by:

  • Keeping to your tenancy conditions and being considerate towards your neighbours
  • Being responsible and accountable for the behaviour of family members and visitors
  • Taking responsibility for solving minor disagreements and showing consideration for different lifestyles
  • Treating all our employees, contractors and anyone working in our neighbourhoods with respect

What is antisocial behaviour?

The term describes a wide range of unacceptable behaviours that can affect the quality of life of people living, visiting or working in Oldham, including:

  • Actual violence against people or property
  • Repeated incidents of verbal abuse or behaviour
  • Harassment, intimidation or threatening behaviour
  • Domestic violence and abuse
  • Criminal behaviour or activity that affects our housing management function
  • Vandalism and criminal damage to property
  • Repeated prolonged high-level noise

Some incidents such as fly-tipping, property condition, graffiti and environmental hazards will be classed as tenancy and/or neighbourhood management and will be dealt with initially outside this policy by the Neighbourhood Co-ordinator.

What is not antisocial behaviour?

We will not consider behaviour which results from different lifestyles, or which may not be considered unreasonable by most people as antisocial behaviour. However, if it is excessive or is having a harmful effect on a person then we may assess the matter further.

Such behaviour can include:

  • Household noise due to everyday living e.g., a washing machine being used at a reasonable time
  • One off parties/noise
  • Cooking odours or smells
  • Children playing
  • People being rude or disagreeable including on social media
  • Car parking disputes
  • Minor disagreements between neighbours
  • DIY in reasonable hours
  • Illegal drug use where there is no associated antisocial behaviour. You are advised to report this to Greater Manchester Police and tenancy enforcement action may be taken.

How we deal with antisocial behaviour

We deal with antisocial behaviour by:

  • Being clear about what we can and cannot do
  • Acting quickly when we know about a problem
  • Listening to everyone involved
  • Keeping in touch to let you know what is happening

Stopping problems before they start

We carry out checks about the people who apply for our homes. This includes asking for references from the previous landlord, if they have one.

Types of antisocial behaviour                 

  • If we can help you and the incident involves violence or threats of violence, we will give it a Category 1 status and agree an action plan with you within 1 working day.
  • Other incidents such as noise, abuse and damage may be given a Category 2 status and we will agree an action plan with you within 5 working days.

Our approach

  • We will act quickly to find out what has happened and get the facts.
  • We will then decide what we need to do.
  • We will keep in touch with you, letting you know our action plan.
  • Our action plan will include:
    • What you can do
    • If we can act, what we will do, when and how long things take, and how often we will contact you.

Partnership working

We ask the police and services to help us work out what is happening.

Support

Sometimes the people who cause problems are made worse because they are unwell or are vulnerable.

There are lots of things we can do, such as:

  • Injunctions to stop someone doing something. We can also ask that someone is kept away from somewhere or can be arrested if they do something they should not.
  • Asking the court to evict someone from their home.

More information

Find details of your local Neighbourhood Coordinator and more information about your neighbourhood.

Listening to you

If you are not happy with our responses to problems, you can make a complaint to us. Read more about our complaints process, including how to complain and how the process works

Help & Support

Report antisocial behaviour