Tenants

Our approach to Anti-Social Behaviour

We know that anti-social behaviour (ASB) can be a genuine worry for local communities and when it occurs we have a responsibility to deal with it effectively. This means working closely with others such as the police and also the local community.  If anyone does provide us with information, we will respect your requirements for confidentiality. Early intervention is a key factor in tackling ASB . When we decide the behaviour is anti-social, we will begin an investigation and take action, if appropriate.  We need corroboration and evidence to take formal action on ASB complaints. 

Examples of the type of behaviour we may consider to be antisocial include:

  • Vandalism 
  • Unreasonable or persistent noise 
  • Verbal abuse and offensive behaviour 
  • Hate crimes 
  • Criminal behaviour 
  • Harassment 
  • Threats of violence towards another. 

If you are experiencing any of the above, you should: 

  • Make immediate contact with the police at the time of the incident, if appropriate. 
  • Contact us on the next available day to make a formal complaint about the anti-social behaviour

We will require the following information to being an investigation:

  • What happened (brief description of events)
  • Where and when it happened (was it specific to an address or common area),
  • Length of incident
  • Who was responsible
  • Any witnesses
  • How did it affect you
  • Details of other organisations contacted at the time,
  • Police incident number (if applicable)

Local information about an incident is really important as we need evidence to build a case for taking action against those involved.  When we conclude that a WSHA tenant and /or  members of the tenants’ household or a visitor to the house is responsible, we will intervene. For serious breaches or where the behaviour is continuing, we can remove the protection and security of an existing Scottish Secure Tenancy (SST) by converting to a short Scottish Secure Tenancy (short SST). We can do this when there has been proven antisocial behaviour within the previous 3 years.

There is now no requirement for the matter to have gone to court or for the person to have an actual conviction for anti-social behaviour. We can use our own criteria to decide the type of anti-social behaviour that could result in a prospective or existing tenant being given a short SST. The short SST must be for a minimum term of 12 months which allows a period to monitor the situation and for us to take appropriate action to end the occurrence.  Should there be insufficient improvement in the situation and tenancy conditions have been broken, we can seek recovery of the property through court action.  We will notify the tenant of our reason for doing so, and the tenant may, within 14 days of the date of the notice, ask the landlord to review its decision.

Unfortunately, there will be some instances where we are unable to take action/ become involved but we will always provide advice on how best to deal with a situation. 

 View a copy of our full Anti Social Behaviour Policy.

If you believe you are experiencing Anti Social Behaviour then you can report this to us in the following ways:

  • via the Customer App
  • by phoning 0141 550 5600 and choosing option 3
  • by email to customer.service@westscot.co.uk