Rehousing Anti Social Families

[Deleted User]

You can speed things up by calling the police regularly. Every time there is any incident of criminality such as property damage or disturbing the peace, call them on the non-emergency number. They will fob you off, but you have to keep doing it and keep a log. Having hundreds of logged police complains helps speed things up.

[Deleted User]

The talk about 'having to house families with children' doesn't apply if the council can find the family to be voluntarily homeless. If they have been thrown out of a previous house or refused housing by the council, I am pretty sure this means they have been found to be voluntarily homeless. There is an undercurrent to this though.., in order to not be in an unpleasant position, the council often will make the family the offer that they will loan them (not give them) the money for the first month's rent and deposit so they are off their records. I was in emergency accommodation (through no fault of my own) the council warned me that they would find me voluntarily homeless as I had no proof of the harrassment I'd been under in my previous tenancy (landlord lied), but they would give me the first month's rent and deposit as a loan as long as I found a place before they closed the case. I was told I would be paying the loan back at £20 a month.., but on signing the paper (with the same housing person present) I actually have to pay £60 a month for the loan. Not easy on top of topping up the rent. But I was actually very lucky to get this house (i.e. roof over my head) as LL's who will take HB tenants are rare., took me over two months of daily looking following up every lead I could find, to find it. And I am paying £775 a month for a terraced house I have had to insulate, with a non working boiler. But I am still lucky to have a roof over my head.

HB cannot be paid direct to a landlord unless the family are more than two months in arrears with their rent or the family are proven to be unable to manage their money. So the LL does NOT have guaranteed rent paid directly to him in normal circumstances. My landlord did try to get me to tell the council that my finances were in such a mess.., so he could get paid the rent directly.., but I refused as I manage my finances as well as humanely possible thank you very much. I could have lost the house doing this though. I have never defaulted on rent payments.

So although I hear you when you say your neighbours are the neighbours from hell.., some of your assumptions are incorrect. Being a private tenant on housing benefit is not quite a 'get away from jail free' card.

You can hope that the tenants don't pay their rent.., and they can be thrown out by the LL that way, depending on the length of their fixed term. Unless the council have managed to skirt around the regulations and made an agreement to pay the landlord directly although this shouldn't have been possible given those regulations.

jamie11

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.

No! It's not the responsibility of the landlord to act as a monitor for his tenant's behaviour, neighbour problems come within the purview of the council tenancy relations officer (or a similar name). Neither is it the responsibility of the police to interfere in civil matters. As for reporting them for criminal activities just to get the police to come round then all I can say is have you ever heard the story of 'Peter and the Wolf'

(Text removed by MSE Forum Team)

theartfullodger

Couple of points...

So if some identically behaving family moved in next door having bought the place, who then do you think will sort things out for you?? You have a problem with neighbours, to be sorted by you/other neighbours with, perhaps, support from plod & council

And jamie is right in saying

No! It's not the responsibility of the landlord to act as a monitor for his tenant's behaviour, neighbour problems come within the purview of the council tenancy relations officer (or a similar name).

- up to a point and that this is not the case in Scotland where a landlord can be required to sort things out, to the extent of rent being withheld from landlord by order of the court until he's sorted things: Come on Engerland, catch up!!

Cheers! Hope it gets sorted.

jamie11

theartfullodger wrote: »

And jamie is right in saying - up to a point and that this is not the case in Scotland where a landlord can be required to sort things out, to the extent of rent being withheld from landlord by order of the court until he's sorted things:

I'm interested in that...........

If the rent is withheld by court order who gets (or holds) the rent? Is it payable to the landlord after the problem has been sorted out?

theartfullodger

Dunno - thankfully!

LADYXXMACBETH

It is the responsibility of the LL see

https://www.gov.uk/private-renting/antisocial-behaviour

So if the LL does not take action the council take over and can create a ‘selective licensing scheme'. Please try and give people correct information or none at all.

Newtie_Newt

LADYXXMACBETH wrote: »

It is the responsibility of the LL see

https://www.gov.uk/private-renting/antisocial-behaviour

So if the LL does not take action the council take over and can create a ‘selective licensing scheme'. Please try and give people correct information or none at all.

Thank you for all your responses so far.
My parents' neighbours are still in effect council tenants despite living in a private property and the landlord definitely gets HB paid directly to him.

Anyway I know that the landlord isn't dealing with his tenants and the council are fully aware of this so what can we do to make the council take over management of the property as the article in the link states? The council seem reluctant to take over from the landlord.

LADYXXMACBETH

Write to the local council ASB team, explain the situation, tell them the LL is not doing anything. They should know who owns it but would have o investigate which can take time that's why diaries are useful as it builds up a picture. Have you and the neighbours thought about setting up a neighbourhood watch?they can be useful and gives residents the chance to work with police and other agencies.
One way to look at dealing with it is to make the area unattractive to the behaviours you don't want. So I guess in your case and it takes a bit of work would be to call up the council noise dept or the police everytime you hear too much noise. If people are hanging around in the day get some neighbours to go out with a radio or cd of classical music and display good behaviour. There is nothing saying people cannot congregate in their own properties.
You could also ask for mediation which councils can set up. It worked for me. My neighbour didn't realise her letting the cousins hang about in the front of her house was a problem when I had mediation I explain thisvand it stopped. She thought I was complaining about the kids.
There's a website called https://www.nfh.org.uk which is useful and can help you with people's responsibilities and the law.

xylophone

The children are left to roam the streets screaming and shouting until 11pm most nights

How old are these "children"? If they are under early teen age surely this should be reported to social services?