If it’s a minor neighbour dispute, talk to your neighbour about the problem as they might not know their behaviour is causing a nuisance to you. 

We understand that you may be nervous about speaking to your neighbour so, if needed, we can help you prepare what you want to say and what you would like to happen as a result. 

Think about…. 

• What happened? 
• What were you thinking/how were you feeling at the time? 
• Who else has been affected? 
• What do you want to happen to move forward? 

You may have concerns about coming forward and reporting anti-social behaviour. We will do all that we can to support you and will tailor the support that we provide to fit your needs.  

We will: 

• Give you information and advice on the type of action that can be taken to resolve the situation. 
• Discuss any needs that you may have e.g., language, literacy, hearing or sight impairments. 
• Tell you about the support that other agencies, such as Victim Support, can provide and make referrals on your behalf, if you would like us to. 
• Work with other organisations, depending on your individual needs. 
• Ask you how you would like us to keep in contact with you and make sure that we do this. 
• Give you with regular updates on the progress of the case. 
• Discuss how evidence can be collected e.g., Incident Log Sheets or Handheld Voice Recorders, CCTV or Noise Monitoring Equipment. 
• Consider the security of you and your home and, where necessary, apply on your behalf for a Police Home Security Check. 

While we encourage residents to build and maintain positive relationships with neighbours, we can support the conversation, if it would help you and your neighbour understand how to overcome the issue. 

We can facilitate this, in a safe place, to help you: 

• explain the impact that your neighbour’s behaviour is having on you
• resolve things amicably
• agree outcomes that work for both parties.  

These ’restorative conversations’ help people to come together to resolve their own disputes, rather than having solutions imposed on them and have the potential to provide a solution much more quickly than formal action. 

If appropriate, and with the agreement of everyone involved, we can make a referral to a Mediation Practitioner, and we will pay the cost of this service. 

• We work in partnership with others to engage residents to prevent and manage ASB, achieve positive resolutions and develop thriving communities. 
• At sign-up, we make sure that new residents are aware of the clauses in their Occupation Contract or lease relating to nuisance and anti-social behaviour. 
• We use tools, such as impact assessments and restorative outcome agreements, to help people understand the effect their anti-social behaviour has on others.  This gives the resident the opportunity to change their behaviour, and repair relationships between everyone involved. 
• Sometimes, the person causing the anti-social behaviour has vulnerabilities which contribute to the behaviour. In such cases, we will work with specialist support agencies to help the person to stop the anti-social behaviour happening again. 

Coastal has a new Community Safety Team who are committed to working alongside residents and partner agencies to prevent anti social behaviour in our communities.  You can learn more about the Community Safety Team here

• Be aware of, and keep to, the conditions of your Tenancy Agreement/Occupation Contract or Lease. 
• Do not cause anti-social behaviour. 
• Do not let your family or visitors cause anti-social behaviour. 
• Report anti-social behaviour to us straight away. 
• Report crimes to the police or allow us to report them on your behalf. 
• Take responsibility for minor disagreements with your neighbours, by trying to sort out problems in a reasonable way. 
• Respect other people’s right to their chosen lifestyle if this does not spoil the quality of life of others. 
• Help us to gather evidence if we need to take formal action and act as a witness in court. 

Your community housing officer will discuss confidentiality with you when you report anti-social behaviour. If you do not want the alleged perpetrator to know who you are, we will respect this. But, it is important that you know that: 

• This may limit the type of action that we are able to take to deal with anti-social behaviour. Serious actions such as legal proceedings are unlikely to be possible without witness statements. 
• If specific allegations are to be put to the alleged perpetrator, they may be able to identify who made the complaint. 

We will do what we can to investigate anonymous reports of anti-social behaviour.  However, unless a contact telephone number is given, we won’t be able to update you, or ask you for more information. This may limit how we are able to act when working to resolve the situation. 

The Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Case Review allows victims of persistent anti-social behaviour, who have previously reported incidents, to request a review of their case where they feel the actions taken have not been adequate. You can request a review or find further information at https://asbcasereview.wales/#top 

We will not move people as a means of resolving anti-social behaviour – we will deal with anti-social behaviour. The only exception to this is in very extreme situations where there are fears for safety. The recommendations of agencies such as the Police will be required in considering such a move.

If you need to attend court, we will: 

• Provide transport to court. 
• Pay expenses for childcare and any other reasonable costs. 
• If asked, arrange for you to be accompanied to the court, before the trial, so that you can see what the court is like and how things happen.