Examples of anti-social behaviour include:

• Noise nuisance (eg loud parties, shouting, noise from televisions)
• Intimidation and harassment
• Aggressive and threatening language and behaviour
• Hate incident/crime
• Using your home to sell drugs or for other unlawful purposes
• Actual violence against people and property
• Rubbish dumping, dog fouling, abandoned cars and littering

Any person can make a complaint of anti-social behaviour or neighbour nuisance to the council. Complaints can be made in writing, in person, over the phone, via email or through a third party. Any criminal behaviour should first be reported to the police, as they are the lead agency on criminal matters.

Often people are unaware they are causing a problem in the first place and will immediately stop their behaviour once they have been made aware that it is causing alarm, distress or nuisance. Where it is practical and safe to do so it may be possible for you to try resolve the situation yourself.

We have lots of different ways to tackle anti-social behaviour. These include:

• Prevention: working together with tenants and residents and other agencies, and taking steps to create a physical and social environment where crime, anti-social behaviour, and neighbour nuisance are less likely to arise in the first place.
• Early intervention: making full use of current powers available under the Housing Act 1996, the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 , and the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003.
• Rehabilitation: working with perpetrators and offenders to try and break the cycle of repeated crime, anti-social behaviour and neighbour nuisance.

For more information please read our Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour leaflet (PDF, 66KB) and Mediation leaflet (PDF, 148KB).

In response to individual reports of anti-social behaviour

• Every report will be quickly and formally acknowledged
• Every report will be investigated by the estate management team
• Investigations will seek to identify and interview all relevant parties
• Investigations will start at the earliest possible time after we receive the complaint and they will be conducted within a reasonable timeframe
• We will not pre-judge any complaint, decisions and actions will be based on facts
• Every report will be graded to assist in prioritising our initial response
• Tenants and residents will be encouraged to resolve disputes themselves where appropriate
• Responses will, as necessary and as appropriate, move from advice, concilliation, mediation and support for tenants' own action, to legal action by Lancaster City Council on behalf of victims of anti-social behaviour
• Council Housing Services will demonstrate by its actions that it will not tolerate anti-social behaviour, and will make this absolutely clear to its tenants and to any person who is looking to become a council tenant.

Recently Lancaster City Council carried out a satisfaction survey with a sample of tenants, below is a summary of the findings provided by those whom responded: