Anti-social behaviour

Aggressive behaviour towards our customers will be dealt with as anti-social behaviour. This may be verbal or physical aggression. If you are in fear of this aggressive behaviour, this may be a crime and you should report it to the police. You  should let us know so that we can investigate.

Aggressive behaviour within a household may also be reported to us as domestic abuse. You can find out more about domestic abuse in the Domestic Abuse section of this anti-social behaviour directory. 

Behaviour that is aggressive towards members of staff or contractors will be dealt with under our Challenging Behaviour Policy.

Alcohol use is legal and is not anti-social behaviour. However, excessive use of alcohol can cause behaviour which is of concern for the individual or those around them. For us to consider alcohol use anti-social behaviour it would need to fall into one of the other categories.

We will signpost those with alcohol addiction to support services.

If someone has set fire to something you should contact the emergency services by calling 999 and asking for the fire service. If you believe that the fire has been caused deliberately then you should also report this to the police on 101.

If the person who has deliberately caused the fire is one of our tenants/customers, we will work with the emergency services to take action. This would be dealt with as anti-social behaviour.

If you are assaulted or you witness someone being assaulted, this is a crime and you should report this to the police. Depending on the severity of the assault, this may be a call made to 999 or 101.

Once the police have been informed, you should contact your neighbourhood officer if the person carrying out the assault is one of our tenants. If they are not, we would not be able to take any action and this would remain a police matter.

If the person carrying out the assault is one of our tenants/customers, then we will investigate this as anti-social behaviour.

For anyone having a bonfire as a one off, the fire service provide advice and guidance on how to do this safely:

• Bonfire Night Safety - West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service
• Fireworks and Bonfire Night Safety - North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service
• They also ask that the control room is informed of any planned bonfires:
• Planned controlled burning - West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service
• Countryside, controlled burning and garden bonfires - North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service

Other types of bonfires such as the regular burning of waste and/or garden waste would not be seen as anti-social behaviour and would be dealt with using our Neighbourhood Management Policy. 

Issues with fences or other types of boundary will not be dealt with as anti-social behaviour unless there is criminal damage.

If someone has caused criminal damage to the fence or boundary then this should be reported to the police first and we will investigate as anti-social behaviour.

If there is no criminal damage we recommend speaking calmly with your neighbour. If this is not possible, you could use a 'Dear Neighbour' card to explain how any issues are affecting you and how you might reach a solution.

If this is not successful, we can offer mediation to help you to reach an agreement. There is more information on what steps are available to you in our Neighbourhood Management Policy.

One off celebrations or parties will not usually be dealt with as anti-social behaviour. If you're planning a party or a celebration, we recommend that you let your neighbours know that there's a celebration happening and what time it will carry on until. See our Neighbourhood Management Policy for more information.

If the noise is going on late into the night (past 11pm and up until 8am) then you should calmly ask your neighbours to lower the volume. If this is not successful, then you can submit a recording using the Noise app for your smartphone:

• download the Noise app for android
• download the Noise app for apple
• read the Noise app user guide

You can also contact your local council who can assess the noise levels. 

If there are regular parties and/or celebrations where noise levels and behaviour reach nuisance levels, then we will assess if this will be dealt with as anti-social behaviour.

Children playing will not usually be dealt with as anti-social behaviour. The only time where this may be considered is if property is damaged as a result.

For more details on what steps are available to you to discuss this with your neighbours, see our Neighbourhood Management Policy. 

If you're concerned about the safety of the children, then you should contact children’s services.

• Leeds: Report a child protection concern
• Wakefield: Worried about a child? - Wakefield Safeguarding Children
• Kirklees: Worried about a child? - KSCP
• North Yorkshire: Safeguarding children - North Yorkshire Council

County Lines is a term used for when drugs are moved from one area to another. The drugs are often moved by children or vulnerable people who are encouraged into it by gangs. This is a crime and should be reported to the police. If you are concerned that someone is in physical danger, then you should report this by calling 999, otherwise it can be reported on 101.

Once you have reported the crime, you should also speak with your neighbourhood officer as we will deal with this as anti-social behaviour.

If a crime is happening, you should report this to the police first. For emergencies dial 999, or non-emergencies call 101. Once you have reported your concerns to the police, then we can give you advice on what we can do to help.
Things that should be reported to the police are:

• Arson
• Assault
• Criminal Damage
• Dangerous dogs
• Domestic Abuse
• Drug use/drug dealing
• Graffiti - particularly if targeted towards an individual. The police would not be responsible for removing the graffiti but we can help you to report this to the relevant organisation.
• Gun crime
• Hate crime
• Intimidation and harassment
• Knife crime
• Public order – this might be things such as fights, street brawls, neighbourly disputes, arguments between parties where alarm, harassment or distress are said to have been caused, and where direct threats to others are made in public.
• Sexual offenses
• Threats of abuse and violence
• Verbal abuse

This is when damage is caused to something because of a crime. The crime itself may be forced entry into a property, graffiti or arson.

This should be reported to the police first.

You should then report any damage to property that belongs to us to our repairs team so that the damage can be repaired.

You should then let your Neighbourhood Officer know as this will be dealt with as anti-social behaviour.

Cuckooing is when a person’s home is taken over for the purpose of someone being exploited. This might mean that the property is used to deal, store or take drugs, or that it is used for sex work. It could also be that the property is taken over by someone else to live there, or to financially abuse the tenant.

This is a crime and should be reported to the police. If you believe someone is at risk of harm, this should be by calling 999, otherwise by calling 101.

Once you have reported this to the police, you should let your Neighbourhood Officer know as we will deal with this as anti-social behaviour.
 

Dangerous dogs are:

• Dogs which have been bred for the purpose of fighting (including pit bull terriers and Japanese Tosas)
• Dogs which present a serious danger to the public
• Dogs which are classed as an XL Bully type

There are rules around owning and walking these types of dogs in public spaces. If you are concerned about someone having a dangerous dog, you should report this to the police as it may be a crime if the rules are not being followed.

Our tenants/customers must also have permission to have a pet of any kind and follow advice around having a pet that does not cause nuisance to neighbours. See our Pets Policy for more information.

If you are concerned that someone has a dangerous dog, you should report this to your Neighbourhood Officer and we will deal with this as anti-social behaviour.

If you are concerned about someone having a pet without permission you can report this to your neighbourhood officer, this will not be dealt with as anti-social behaviour but we can check to make sure that permission has been given.

We consider DIY as normal household noise and we will not usually deal with it as anti-social behaviour. See our Neighbourhood Management Policy on steps you can take to try to discuss this with your neighbours.

There are very few times where it may be considered as anti-social behaviour, for example when it takes place between the hours of 11pm and 8am. Or where it meets the noise limits detailed in the Noise Nuisance section of this anti-social behaviour directory. 

Domestic abuse is a criminal offense, we can provide extra support so please contact us if you are experiencing this yourself or you are worried about a neighbour.

You can find out more about how we work with victims of domestic abuse in our Domestic Abuse Policy.  You can access advice and help outside of Leeds Federated using the following links:

• Domestic abuse: how to get help - GOV.UK
• Homepage - National Domestic Abuse Helpline - 0808 2000 247
• Domestic Abuse Helpline for Men - Men's Advice Line UK - 0808 8010 327
• Bright Sky app - Hestia
• Women's Aid Directory - Women’s Aid

Both drug use and drug dealing are criminal offenses and should be reported to the police using 101.

We do not have the powers of investigation to tackle either drug use or drug dealing as these are criminal offenses. We can report incidents to the police to help their investigations and we can ask for information from the police where we have information sharing agreements in place.

We will work with the police and other agencies with their investigations. Depending on the outcome, we may be able to take tenancy action where we can gather enough evidence.

We will signpost those with drug habits or addiction to support services.

If the fly tipping is on land owned by us you can let us know so that we can arrange for the items to be removed. Where possible, we will investigate this to find the person responsible. We will deal with fly tipping under our Neighbourhood Management Policy.

If the fly tipping is on council land, we will ask you to report this to them.

• Leeds: Report fly tipping - Leeds Council
• Kirklees: Report flytipping - Kirklees Council
• Wakefield: Fly-tipping - Wakefield Council
• North Yorkshire: Report fly tipping - North Yorkshire Council

Breakdowns in friendship can be difficult to deal with, especially if you are also neighbours. However, this is not a tenancy matter and we will not be able to deal with this as anti-social behaviour.

You may be able to use some of the methods in our Neighbourhood Management Policy to reach an agreement of reasonable behaviour towards one another.

Graffiti is a crime, particularly if targeted towards an individual and should be reported to the police on 101.

The police would not be responsible for removing the graffiti and we can help you to report this to the relevant organisation. Depending on where the graffiti is, we may remove it ourselves, or report to the local council to remove it.

We will tackle any reports using our Neighbourhood Management Policy.

If you are a victim or a witness to gun crime this should be reported to the police by calling 999.

Once you have informed the police, you should contact your neighbourhood officer. If the person with the gun is one of our tenants/customers, we will investigate this as anti-social behaviour.

If they are not a tenant/customer we will work with you to help you feel more safe. We will work with relevant partners and agencies such as the police public protection team or local council housing teams to look at options to make you feel safer e.g. additional security measures, moving home, etc.
 

Hate crime is a criminal matter and should be reported to the police. If there is a threat to life you should call 999 to report this, otherwise you should call 101.

Once the police have been informed, you should report this to your Neighbourhood Officer.

If the person committing the hate crime is one of our tenants/customers, we will investigate this as anti-social behaviour.

If the person committing the hate crime is not one of our tenants/customers, we will work with you to help you feel more safe. We will work with relevant partners and agencies such as the police public protection team or local council housing teams to look at options to make you feel safer e.g. additional security measures, moving home, etc.

If you tell us that someone might be hoarding, we will investigate this and work with the person to try and resolve their hoarding. Hoarding may be linked with wellbeing. If we think that a tenant/customer who is hoarding would benefit from help from adult social care, we will refer them following our Safeguarding Policy - if you'd like to see a copy of this policy get in touch with us.

We do not treat hoarding as anti-social behaviour but we may take legal action to prevent it from getting worse.

If you are concerned that a neighbour may be hoarding, speak with your Neighbourhood Officer so that they can investigate.

Both intimidation and harassment are crimes and should be reported to the police on 101.

If the police find that the threshold for intimidation or harassment has been met, we will work with them and this may result in tenancy enforcement action being taken.

We will deal with reports of intimidation and harassment as anti-social behaviour.

If you are a victim or a witness to knife crime this should be reported to the police by calling 999.

Once you have informed the police, you should contact your Neighbourhood Officer. If the person with the knife is one of our tenants/customers, we will investigate this as anti-social behaviour.

If the person committing the hate crime is not one of our tenants/customers we will work with you to help you feel more safe. We will work with relevant partners and agencies such as the police public protection team or local council housing teams to look at options to make you feel safer e.g. additional security measures, moving home, etc.

If pre-legal measures do not have the desired effect, or the anit-social behaviour is significant enough then a legal measure is required. The most appropriate measure will be discussed with our panel of solicitors.

If you need a Mobility Scooter, you should ask permission from your Neighbourhood Officer or Support Co-ordinator. This is to make sure that they are stored in an appropriate place. They cannot be stored in communal areas or hallways as they are a fire hazard.

Mobility Scooters found in communal areas will be removed without notice if found by a staff member because of the fire hazard. The cost of the removal will be charged back to you.

Not all noise is dealt with as anti-social behaviour.

General household noise which would not be treated as anti-social behaviour are things like:

• babies crying
• children playing
• people talking or walking within their homes
• closing doors and windows
• vacuuming
• using white goods
• switching lights on and off
• flushing the toilet/running the taps
• DIY during the daytime/early evening
• Occasional noise made by someone with a mental health condition or physical disability
• One off incident of shouting/arguing/loud music
• Dogs barking intermittently

If you are affected by this type of noise, then you should speak with your neighbour and try to reach an agreement that you are both able to stick to. If you are not able to speak with your neighbour, then you could use one of our 'Dear Neighbour' cards to let them know how this is affecting you.
 
If this doesn’t work, you could download the Noise app to your smartphone. This will let you send in short noise clips to us so that we can assess the noise levels and advise you on whether we would deal with it as anti-social behaviour: 

• download the Noise app for android
• download the Noise app for apple
• read the Noise app user guide

If we can find a way to reduce noise transference by providing things such as rubber mats for washing machines, soft door closers, or anti-slam mechanisms we will work with you to provide these.
 
The next steps after this may be using a mediation service which we can organise for you. These steps are detailed in our Neighbourhood Management Policy.
 
If the noise is happening frequently or you are unable to use the noise app, we may offer the use of noise monitoring equipment for a fixed period to help us to assess the noise levels.

If the noise is coming from somewhere that is not owned by us, you should contact the local council and report this to them. They may also have an out of hours noise monitoring service who can tackle statutory noise complaints:

• Leeds: Making a noise complaint - Leeds Council
• Kirklees: Noise nuisance - Kirklees Council
• Wakefield: Report a noise problem - Wakefield Council
• North Yorkshire: Report a noise issue - North Yorkshire Council

Other forms of noise that the council can help with are:

• Noise from premises or vehicles, equipment or machinery in the street
• Noise at night (between the hours of 11pm and 7am)
• Noise that is above the permitted noise levels measured in decibels
• Noise from intruder alarms
• Noise from construction works
• Loud speakers in the street
• Model aircraft noise
• Noise from industrial, trade or business premises

Nuisance that may be dealt with as anti-social is behaviour that prevents you from having peaceful enjoyment of your home. It is likely to threaten life, health, property, or morals.

Speak to your Neighbourhood Officer to discuss this type of behaviour and whether we can deal with it as anti-social, or as something else.
 

If you are worried that someone’s bins are overflowing, or that they are not regularly put out or taken in, the best way to handle this is by speaking with your neighbour to make sure that they understand why this concerns you. You could use a 'Dear Neighbour' card to let them know if you don’t feel comfortable in speaking with them about it.

If the problem continues, let us know so that we can work with the customer to resolve this. We do not treat this as anti-social behaviour, see our Neighbourhood Management Policy. 

Useful websites for bin collection and waste services:

• Leeds: Bins, waste and recycling - Leeds Council
• Kirklees: Bins and recycling - Kirklees Council
• Wakefield: Bins - Wakefield Council
• North Yorkshire: Bins, recycling and waste - North Yorkshire Council

We do not deal with parking as anti-social behaviour unless a vehicle is being parked with intent to block access.

If a vehicle is parked on land owned by us and it is thought to be abandoned, uninsured or unroadworthy, then we can report this to the relevant authority and have the vehicle removed. The cost of this would be recharged to the owner of the vehicle where possible.

If a vehicle is on a public road and it is causing a road to be blocked or preventing access by emergency services then we may report this to the local council.

Where there is a communal parking area, it is our general rule that spaces are not allocated. You would be told at the beginning of your tenancy if this is not the case. We will not become involved in parking disputes and recommend that you speak calmly with your neighbours in the first instance.

If this is not successful you could use a 'Dear Neighbour' card to let them know how this is affecting you, and we can also offer mediation so that you can reach an agreement, but this would not be enforced by us. See our Neighbourhood Management Policy for more information.  

We may be involved in issues with parking where there is a specific covenant in place which gives extra rules around parking.
 

Tenants/customers can have pets within their homes as long as permission has been given by us.

We will assess the type of property and how this is suitable for the number and type of pets that permission is asked for. We will not deny the keeping of pets without reason to do so as we recognise the benefits that having a pet can have.

We will not give permission for pets that are thought to be dangerous to the public or where the animal has ever caused injury to a person, or where there is legislation to restrict pets of a certain type. We may deal with this as anti-social behaviour following initial assessment.

Livestock or animals that are not domesticated are usually not allowed, with some exceptions for hens or pigeons.

Pets such as cats coming into your garden is not dealt with as anti-social behaviour, neither is a pet occasionally escaping from its cage or pen. We do expect that living arrangements for pets are maintained and suitable for their needs.

We reserve the right to withdraw permission for pets where they are not being cared for correctly, they are causing damage to the property, or where they are at risk of causing injury to visitors to the home. If you are concerned about the wellbeing of a pet, you can report this to the RSPCA. 

Dog fouling may be dealt with as anti-social behaviour, but we would expect you to speak with the pet owner in the first instance in a calm manner. If the fouling continues, then using a 'Dear Neighbour' card, or having mediation arranged by us may help. If these approaches don’t work, then this can be reported to us or the local council:

• Leeds: Report dog fouling or request dog fouling signage - Leeds Council
• Kirklees: Report dog fouling - Kirklees Council 
• Wakefield: Report dog fouling - Wakefield Council
• North Yorkshire: Dog fouling - North Yorkshire Council

Noise from pets such as dogs barking, may be dealt with as anti-social behaviour if it goes on for long periods of time. See the Noise section of this anti-social behaviour directory for more information.  

More information is available in our Pets Policy.

Where possible, we will use pre-legal measures to resolve issues of anti-social behaviour. This is to prevent any unnecessary costs being passed on to the perpetrator(s).

The police can deal with some disputes between neighbours as public order offenses. This is likely to be where alarm, harassment or distress has taken place or where direct threats are made to the public. It can also include street fights.

If something of this kind is taking place, the police should be contacted on 999 as this is a crime.

Once the matter has been reported to the police, you should inform your Neighbourhood Officer as we will deal with this as anti-social behaviour.

Nuisance from quad bikes, e-bikes or mopeds can also be tackled under the Vehicles section of this anti-social behaviour directory.

Riots and damage caused as a result of a riot are criminal offenses and should be reported to the police by calling 999.

Following the matter being reported to the police, you should report any tenants/customers or adult household members who may have been involved in a riot to your Neighbourhood Officer as we will investigate this as a matter of anti-social behaviour.

There are a wide variety of sexual offences. These can include:

• rape
• assault by penetration
• sexual assault
• child sexual abuse
• disclosing private sexual images without consent
• sexual offences with a family member
• domestic abuse
• exploitation
• trafficking
• prostitution

There is no blanket approach that we can take to sexual offences and we will deal with them on a case by case basis to protect the victim(s).

If you're concerned about someone’s safety or wellbeing, then you should contact the police on 999.

If you're concerned about someone’s wellbeing but don’t think that they're in immediate danger, you can report this to the police on 101. You can also report to social services.

Further information is available if you are concerned about an adult:

• Leeds: Worried about someone - Leeds Council
• Wakefield: Reporting abuse (adults) - Wakefield Council
• Kirklees: Report abuse or neglect of an adult at risk - Kirklees Council
• North Yorkshire: Safeguarding adults - North Yorkshire Council

More information is available if you are concerned about a child:

• Leeds: Report a child protection concern - Leeds Council
• Wakefield: Worried about a child? - Wakefield Safeguarding Children
• Kirklees: Worried about a child? - KSCP
• North Yorkshire: Safeguarding children - North Yorkshire Council

Cooking smells will not be dealt with as anti-social behaviour as this is part of the usual use of a home. See the Neighbourhood Management Policy for further information.

Noxious smells may include things such as refuse material that is not being disposed of correctly and is causing a smell. It can also include the smell of bodily odour, urine, faeces, or chemicals. We will not usually deal with reports of smells as anti-social behaviour unless we believe that the smell is being caused with intent.

We would ask you to speak with your neighbour in the first instance to let them know what effect the smell is having on you so that you can come to an agreement about how to deal with this. If this is not possible, you could use a 'Dear Neighbour' card to let them know.

We can also offer mediation to help you to reach an agreement or solution.

Smoking or vaping within a home or the boundaries of a home is not considered to be anti-social behaviour.

The exclusion to this is where there is a shared internal communal area such as a corridor or hallway. Smoking in communal areas is against the law. We will write to tenants/customers to confirm that this is a breach of tenancy where we receive reports of this. We would not think it reasonable for someone to vape within this area as it is enclosed and shared with others.

If someone is smoking or vaping within their own home, this is not in breach of their tenancy agreement. Individuals may also decide to smoke or vape in their garden or outside of their back door for example. This is not anti-social behaviour, see our Neighbourhood Management Policy for more information.  

If the smell from someone smoking or vaping outside of their home is causing you concern, then you should speak with them about this calmly and ask them to do this in a place that doesn’t affect you. However, we cannot enforce this.

Using a 'Dear Neighbour' card on how the smell of the smoke or vape affects you might help your neighbour to understand and for you to come to an agreement of how both of your needs can be met.

If this does not work, we can offer mediation to help you to reach an agreement.

A person staring at you or others is not generally thought to be anti-social behaviour. To try and address your concerns about this, see our Neighbourhood Management Policy. 

Only if this forms part of a pattern of behaviour that is thought to be threatening or a form of harassment will it be considered for involvement by us. Where this is the case, you may be advised to speak with the police in the first instance by calling 101. See the Intimidation and Harassment section of this anti-social behaviour directory for more information.

If we notice that someone’s garden is untidy, we will work with the customer to try and resolve this. We will usually notice that a garden is unkept during our regular estate inspections, but if you are concerned about the state of a garden, this can be reported to your Neighbourhood Officer.

For more information see our Neighbourhood Management Policy.

Vandalism is where property is damaged deliberately. This is a crime and should be reported to the police in the first instance by calling 101.

If you believe that the vandal is a Leeds Federated tenant/customer, then you can speak with your Neighbourhood Officer after reporting this to the police. We will treat this as anti-social behaviour.

Vehicles can cause nuisance in several ways. Vehicles covered in this section can be any type of vehicle that would usually be used on the public highways. This can include: cars, vans, caravans, trailers, tractors, quad bikes, e-bikes, mopeds, motorbikes.

For vehicles parked poorly, causing an obstruction or involved in a parking dispute, see the Parking section of this anti-social behaviour directory for more information.

Vehicles may be a nuisance if they are being driven without due care and attention. If they are street racing, cruising, or performing stunts, these are all crimes and should be reported to the police. If there is an immediate danger to life, then this can be reported by calling 999, otherwise 101.

It is helpful to the police to advise them of the registration plate, make and model of the car as well as any information about the driver. This type of behaviour will be dealt with as anti-social, but we can only take action where the perpetrator is one of our tenants.

Carrying out works to a vehicle may be a breach of the tenancy agreement and can be reported to your Neighbourhood Officer. It may not be dealt with as anti-social behaviour, but we may be able to take tenancy enforcement action if we are not able to resolve things more informally.

Selling vehicles is not dealt with as anti-social behaviour unless the volume of vehicles is causing a nuisance in other ways (see the Parking section of this anti-social behaviour directory for more information). However, it may be considered that a tenant/customer is running a business from home, in which case permission must be granted. You can report this to your Neighbourhood Officer or get in touch if you'd like to see a copy of our policy.

Driving on other land such as across a public grassed area or within a public park should be reported to the police.

If you think that a vehicle has been abandoned, then speak with your neighbours in case they recognise the vehicle.

If it's on land owned by us then inform your Neighbourhood Officer who will investigate. You'll need to provide the location, the make and model of the vehicle and the registration number.

If it's on a public road, then inform the relevant local council:

• Leeds: Parking - Leeds Council
• Kirklees: Transport, roads and parking - Kirklees Council
• Wakefield: Parking - Wakefield Council
• North Yorkshire: Roads, parking and travel - North Yorkshire Council

Some councils have Public Space Protection Orders in place that give additional powers to prevent anti-social behaviour of this kind. You can check this with your local council.

• Leeds: Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) - Leeds Council
• Wakefield: Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) - Wakefield Council
• Kirklees: Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO) - Kirklees Council
• North Yorkshire: Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO) - North Yorkshire Council

If you believe that the vehicle is stolen, please inform the police by calling 101.

Verbal abuse or aggression may be classed as a crime (including a hate crime - see the Hate Crime section of this anti-social behaviour directory for more information.) and will be dealt with as anti-social behaviour.

You should report this to the police first, if you are at immediate risk of harm, by calling 999, otherwise by calling 101.

Once reported to the police and after any immediate risk has passed, then this should be reported to your Neighbourhood Officer who will investigate.

Verbal abuse or aggression towards staff members or contractors will be dealt with under the Challenging Behaviour Policy.