Rehousing Anti Social Families

Newtie_Newt

Hello
My parents moved this summer from a flat in N London and bought a small terraced house in SW London in a quiet street. Two months ago a family was moved in next door (it's a privately owned property) and since then life has been pretty dreadful for them. The family have late, loud parties most nights and there are loads of people just hanging around outside day and night. The children are left to roam the streets screaming and shouting until 11pm most nights, even now that's it's colder. Generally just lots and lots of noise pretty much all of the time.

My parents and other neighbours have been told to keep diary sheets to log the disturbance and have been told that the family have been issued not an ASBO but something called and Anti Social Behaviour Contract as a result of the neighbours' complaints.

Apparantly the family were rehoused due to complaints from neighbours where they lived previously which was a council property. So, the have simply been 'moved on'. The council didn't want to rehouse them in one their properties so they looked to private landlords. They were given a deposit to move into their new house by the council. The whole process of complaints has to begin again now and after a few years of continued complaints, no doubt they will be rehoused somewhere else. Until the my parents and the other neighbours have to suffer the disturbance.
Anyone else had experience of this? Any ideas of how to stop the chain of events or why this can happen over and over again?
Who should we complain to? The landlord is hard to get hold of and neighbours who've met him seem to think he wouldn't care (he has loads of properties across London) - he just cares about the money and is getting a guaranteed rent straight from the council (HB) for this family.

BitterAndTwisted

When they lost their Council tenancy, even though the Council refused to rehouse them in one of their own properties they still had a statutory duty to help them find housing because they have children.

Your only recourse is to press on with the complaints and the diary-keeping, and cross your fingers that they trash the landlord's property. It's only then that they will get their marching-orders and be placed somehere where they can annoy a whole new community. And so it goes on....

wary

It is indeed difficult to know what to do with antisocial families other than to move the problem onto another community.

Not sure whether it is necessarily a good thing to put all your rotten eggs in one basket, but they ought to have estates exclusive to the house such families, away from decent folk. Mind you, the European courts would probably award them a million in compensation, for being deprived of their basic human right to make other people's lives a misery without having it done back to them.

LADYXXMACBETH

I have a lot of experience of this. Ultimately it is the responsibility of the landlord to make sure that his tenents are not causing harrassment to neighbours.
Legally people cannot be homeless though and that is often why they are just moved about. If they are removed from a property they are usually put into the care of social services and they have to find them a place to stay. Usually this is a hostel or B and B and if they get HB then there are LLs who are happy to get the rent from them.
Keep diaries and try and make the annoying neighbours' lives hell by constantly calling the police mention drugs and that someone might have been carrying a knife it gets them there quicker. Phone environ health and complain about noise after 11pm.
I find that going to the lettings agent or council or police anyone that will listen that you are suicidal and it is effecting your health.
I know the hell of living with antis social neighbours and ultimatly the only thing that we have found has worked is we are selling up and moving.
I think that even if they move away you have such bad memories about the house and the trouble they caused it doesn't feel very homely or have happy memories. You have to make yourself a nuisance to the police and every organisation you can think of.

Mulder00

Really, the advice is to phone the police and report them for knives and drugs??? This to me is almost as bad as the noise itself. Making false allegations to the police is a really, really bad idea.

wary

LADYXXMACBETH wrote: »

I know the hell of living with antis social neighbours and ultimatly the only thing that we have found has worked is we are selling up and moving.

You're possibly right. Alas that is also only moving the problem onto someone else - i.e. the poor, unsuspecting sod who buys your house in good faith.

katejo

LADYXXMACBETH wrote: »

I have a lot of experience of this. Ultimately it is the responsibility of the landlord to make sure that his tenents are not causing harrassment to neighbours.
Legally people cannot be homeless though and that is often why they are just moved about. If they are removed from a property they are usually put into the care of social services and they have to find them a place to stay. Usually this is a hostel or B and B and if they get HB then there are LLs who are happy to get the rent from them.
Keep diaries and try and make the annoying neighbours' lives hell by constantly calling the police mention drugs and that someone might have been carrying a knife it gets them there quicker. Phone environ health and complain about noise after 11pm.
I find that going to the lettings agent or council or police anyone that will listen that you are suicidal and it is effecting your health.
I know the hell of living with antis social neighbours and ultimatly the only thing that we have found has worked is we are selling up and moving.
I think that even if they move away you have such bad memories about the house and the trouble they caused it doesn't feel very homely or have happy memories. You have to make yourself a nuisance to the police and every organisation you can think of.

But what does the seller then say if potential buyers ask questions? You could be in trouble for not declaring the problem.

trollopscarletwoman

Mulder00 wrote: »

Really, the advice is to phone the police and report them for knives and drugs??? This to me is almost as bad as the noise itself. Making false allegations to the police is a really, really bad idea.

I would support it given the real world.

You can spend years of misery trying to stop anti-social families/individuals.

You've got to do what you have to do to protect yourself. In quite a few areas the police are basically a non-entity.

PasturesNew

Needs to be a Two Step process.

Firstly - get rid of their "get out of jail free" card. Target the kids. Focus all your attention on poor parenting and child safety, with social services. Once the kids have gone the parents will no longer qualify for enough housing benefit to cover their rent and they'll have to move on.......

Newtie_Newt

PasturesNew wrote: »

Needs to be a Two Step process.

Firstly - get rid of their "get out of jail free" card. Target the kids. Focus all your attention on poor parenting and child safety, with social services. Once the kids have gone the parents will no longer qualify for enough housing benefit to cover their rent and they'll have to move on.......

My mother works for social services actually. I do know that it takes A LOT for children to be put into care. Visible physical abuse for one, and they don't think that's happening. Just poor parenting and neglect - not enough.

It's just so unfortunate a situation for my parents. They lived in the city centre for years, grew to hate it. Moved further away for more of the quiet life and got lumbered with the family from hell next door. This just doesn't seem to be fair - and it isn't. So, anti social families with children are completely protected by our Government and are guaranteed a nice home No Matter What They Do?
I do understand that the children need somewhere to live, but my parents' street is lovely, leafy and they paid a fortune for their tiny 2 bed because of its 'desirable' location. It's their retirement home... and now they hate it. At least they're not the only ones and all the other neighbours seem lovely.

LADYXXMACBETH

I think that ASB is totally devastating for families and a lot of people who do not have experience of it first hand cannot comprehend how it effects every part of life. You are afraid at home, away from home. It effects your sleep, mental health, physical health, relationships with friends and family.cit hint councils are often scared of these type of families and there are few powers to deal with them. I have honestly considered taking my own life because of the ASB we have experienced. Thankfully at the moment things have quietened down because a few members of the gang of kids are in prison. When they come out it will all start again and even if it doesn't and the kids have found Jesus in jail I still can't forgive them for what they have done. This is ASB that has gone on for nearly 6 years.
Also ASB is different for everyone. One of my neighbours has young kids that scream and shout and run around all the time personally I don't find this a problem. Another neighbour has all their mates round and sit on the wall in front of their house shouting abuse at people as they walk past I find that intimidating but if you knew the family this is just them socialising.
We have almost cracked the ASB issue where I live but it has taken years of calling the police, council, environmental health and I'm tired of fighting it.
Essentially these people area breaking the law and getting away with it. Decent law abiding folk are the ones being punished and I think it should stop.
Good luck I hope your parents can get it sorted

Btw I am not in any disputes with my neighbours since all disputes from the past have been closed wg ch is why I have not been able to move earlier as someone said I am legally a lived to declare them.