Problem with Housing Association tenants next door

marny_2

Good day!
I own a ground floor flat next door to a house that is split into two flats and owned by a Housing Association.
Our problems began about a year ago when new tenants moved in downstairs. Apparantly the real tenant is in prison serving a sentence for drug dealing and aggravated assault and the HA have allowed him to choose people to officially look after his flat whilst he is away (for 11 years!). These chosen people are a nightmare and make noise day and night (loud music, TV, slamming doors etc). We have done everything advised - logged all events in the form of a diary and send to the HA on a regular basis, informed EH (whenever they come round the tenants quietn down as they see them coming) and even had recording equipment installed for two weeks. The HA had to inform the tenants of this and so they went away for the two weeks whilst it was installed.
Basically the fundamenatl issue is that the HA can not discriminate against their tenant who is in prison and can not make him homeless as they are a charity (their words). They have to 'do their best to ensure things are in the best interest of the tenant during his stay in prison'.
Are we the only people who think this is utter nonsense? Even the local paper didn't want to get involved and our MP's letters have not done anything to change the situation.

dcems

That is ridiculous,yes. Normally, if a tenant goes to prison they would loose their property,in most cases through rent arrears due to non-payment of rent(normally HB,who pay fo a short period but not 11 years.

The tenant isnt without accommodation,albeit in prison,so someone much more needy could have that property. Some HA's have charitable status,but ultimately they are a landlord and have a duty of care to other residents as well as the tenant.

Who is the HA? P.M me if you like.

If a registerd social landlord i would be taking it to the Housing Ombudsman now.

brit1234

They can be removed you just need to get the right people behind you to add weight.

You need to look up on the internet you local Police Safer Neighbourhood Team and then email them to visit you about the anti social behaviour. They will have acess to information on the inhabitants that you don't. Your issues can be noted and after a period of time they can assist with getting them evicted.

theartfullodger

A tenant being in prison is not grounds for ending a tenancy e,.g.

Amoah v Barking and Dagenham LBC
(2001)
Prisoner serving long sentence had not ceased to reside
Mr Amoah was a secure tenant. On 18 April 1997, he was sentenced to
12 years’ imprisonment. He left items of furniture in the property and
appointed a relative to act as ‘caretaker’ in his absence. The council served
a notice to quit and obtained a possession order on the basis that Mr
Amoah had lost his status as a secure tenant.
Mr Amoah appealed successfully.

(there are other cases..)

Tenant could be merely on remand and be released this afternoon without a stain on her character (Rebekah Bookes anyone??)..

Think you need to pursue, as indicated above, the anti-social behaviour of the current occupants..

golddustmedia

This should be an issue for the environmental health officer at the council. Keep pursuing the matter there.

brit1234

golddustmedia wrote: »

This should be an issue for the environmental health officer at the council. Keep pursuing the matter there.

They can't get them evicted, they can seize noise making equipment and that evidence can be used to help get them evicted. However its down to the housing association to do and the safer neighbourhood team is the best people to approach them as they should of established a partnership relationship.

golddustmedia

brit1234 wrote: »

They can't get them evicted, they can seize noise making equipment and that evidence can be used to help get them evicted.

Exactly my point.
At the moment the HA won't take action.
SO, get the environmental health dept in play. Get the OFFICIAL evidence and support from them, THEN the HA can take action. By flitting between one and the other at present the case is passed from pillar to post. It's the EH inspectors job to do this, so use them as intended

may_fair

Basically, the dispute is between you and the neighbours, just as if they were owner-occupiers. Concentrate on logging/obtaining evidence of the noise nuisance and don't expect the Housing Association to take any action.

marny_2

Hello

I am still in shock regarding recent developments - if anyone's interested!!!

Well, the police have made numerous visits to the neighbour's flat next door. It transpires that one of the residents was drug dealing from the property and arrested. Obviously it is early days and I don't know whether he'll be charged or not but the housing association flatly refuse to admit that there is a problem. I asked them, hypothetically, what would happen to the tenancy if it was proven that dealing was occuring from their property and was told that it wouldn't affect the tenancy in any way shape or form!!!

Also the actual tenant has already been foundf guilty and has so far served one year of a 12 year sentence. I've researched the Amoagh case and am utterly shocked that HA tenants hold so many rights despite comiting crimal offences in properties they rent.

I pay my neighbour's rent indirectly through my taxes and they just do nothing all day but take and deal drugs. Doesn't seem right.

I have logged all noise and disruption and I hand my logs to the HA on a weekly basis. When I asked what was being done in response to the logs I was told 'nothing really'!!!
I was also told that unless the neighbours were making noise that was loud enough to be heard on the other side of the road it was not officially deemed a nuisance!!! After checking with EH I discovered this to be nonsense. This is a huge London HA I am talking about...how can they opertae in such a way. Housing Ombudsman has been suggested to me as the next option and us neighbours are going to club together and try to resolve this dire situation.

tco03

This is such a common thing nowadays especially when DSS tenants are moving into private owned properties.
Its pretty scary really and the law seems to protect these individuals who simply trash the houses and move on to the next,

marny_2

tco03 wrote: »

This is such a common thing nowadays especially when DSS tenants are moving into private owned properties.
Its pretty scary really and the law seems to protect these individuals who simply trash the houses and move on to the next,

I know...but this property is actually owned by the HA, not a private landlord and the HA seem completely happy to allow this situation to continue. Terrible for those who live nearby...

I used to know the lady who lived in the other flat in the house next door. She had to move out and rent privately as the tenant, before he was imprisoned, was harrassing her verbally each time he saw her. They HA did nothing to protect or help her and I felt terribly sorry for the poor girl - a single woman, early 20s. She was a tenant of the same HA but because she was law abiding the HA didn't want to know. Should have seen the warning signs... She moved out just a few months ago but luckily she was only renting.