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You And Your NeighboursThis section tells you:

• Whatyourtenancyagreementsaysaboutneighbournuisanceandanti-socialbehaviour.

• Howtobeagoodneighbour.

• Adviceforpeoplelivinginflats.

• Whatyoushoulddoifyouaresufferingfromneighbournuisanceoranti-socialbehaviour.

• Whatwewilldoifwereceiveareportofneighbournuisanceoranti-socialbehaviour.

• Aboutmediation.

• AbouttheVictimandWitnessSupportProject.

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What Your Tenancy Agreement Says About Neighbour Nuisance And Anti-Social BehaviourYourtenancyagreementstatesthatyouareresponsibleforthebehaviourofeveryone(includingchildren)livinginorvisitingyourhome.Youareresponsiblefortheminyourhome,onsurroundingland,insharedareas,andintheneighbourhoodaroundyourhome.

Yourtenancyagreementstatesthatyoumustnotdothefollowing,orallowanyonelivingwithyouorvisitingyoutodothefollowing:

• Causeanuisanceto,annoyordisturbanyotherperson,includingyourneighbours,neighbours’visitors,andouremployeesoragents.Examplesofnuisancebehaviourinclude:allowingormakingnoiseatyourhome,whichcanbeheardoutsideyourhomeorbyneighbours,suchasplayingloudmusicorinstruments,playingyourTVloudly,slammingdoorsandshouting;allowingdogstobarkorfoulpublicareas;beingoffensivelydrunk;sellingorusingdrugs;dumpingrubbishandplayingballgames.

• Harassanyotherperson,includingyourneighbours,neighbours’visitors,andouremployeesoragents.Examplesincluderacistbehaviourorlanguage;usingorthreateningtouseviolence;usingabusiveorinsultingwordsorbehaviour;damagingorthreateningtodamageanotherperson’shomeorpossessionsandwritingthreatening,abusiveorinsultinggraffiti.

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How To Be A Good NeighbourTheAssociationwantsallitstenantstoenjoytheirhomesandtakepleasurefromlivinginafriendly,caringcommunity.Pleasemakesurethatyourfamilyandvisitorsconsideryourneighbours.

Forexample,inthehotweatherwhenwindowsarewideopen,rememberthatthesoundofyourTV,radioorCDplayertravelsfurther,sopleasekeepthevolumedown.

Thinkaboutelderlypeoplewholivenearyou,orfamilieswithyoungchildrenwhomaygotobedearlierthanyou,andtrynottomakealotofnoiselateatnight.

Ifyouareplanningaparty,letyourneighboursknowinadvance-infact,whynotaskthemtocomeoverandjoinin!

IfyouareplanningsomeDIY,orothernoisyactivities,becourteous,andletyourneighboursknowwhatyouareplanningtodo.

Remember – a little bit of consideration goes a long way!

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Advice For People Living In FlatsObviously,livinginaflatmeansyouareclosertoyourneighboursthanifyouliveinahouse,andnoisewilltravelmoreeasily.Thismeansthatyoushouldtakeextracarenottocauseanuisancetoyourneighbours.

Forexample,laminateorwoodenflooringcancausealotofnoiseforsomeonelivingbelowyou.Youmustalwaysseekpermissionfromusbeforeinstallingsuchflooring.Ifwethinkthiswillcausetoomuchnoiseforyourneighbourswemayrefusepermission.

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What You Should Do If You Are Suffering From Neighbour Nuisance Or Anti-Social BehaviourIfyoufeelthataneighbourisbehavingunreasonably,thereareseveralwaystoapproachtheproblem.PleaserememberthattheAssociationmaynotbeabletodealwithallaspectsofnoiseornuisance.

• Thefirstthingtodoistospeaktoyourneighbourabouttheproblem.Thisisbestdonequietlyandcalmly.Whynothaveachatoveracupoftea?Afterall,yourneighbourmaynothaverealisedtheywerecausingaproblem,andmaybehappytoputitright.

• Ifthenuisancestillcontinues,youshouldcontactyourHousingOfficerforhelpandadvice.YourHousingOfficerwillexplainwhatactiontheAssociationcanandcannottake,aswellasadvisingyouwhichotheragenciesmaybeabletohelp.Ifthenuisanceinvolvescriminalactivity,itisveryimportantthatyoualsoreportittothepolice,andobtainacrimereferencenumber.

• Youshouldkeepa‘diary’ofeveryincidentthatoccurs,includingthedateandtimeoftheincident,arecordofwhatoccurred,andthenamesandaddressesofanywitnesses.ThiswillhelptheAssociationindecidingthebestcourseofaction,andwillprovidevitalevidenceifitisnecessarytotakeanyformoflegalaction.

• If you are ever in any doubt about your own personal safety, please contact the Police on 999.

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How Do I Know Who To Call To Deal With Different Types Of Nuisance?

101 – The Non-Emergency Number. ThisisanumberavailableforthepeopleofCardifftoreportanti-socialbehaviourandnuisancethataffectstheirneighbourhoodorcommunity.

ProvidedbySouthWalesPolice,itoffersaneasytoremembernumberthatallowspeopletoreportincidentsof:

• Vandalismandgraffiti.

• Drunkenandrowdybehaviour.

• Drugsrelatedanti-socialbehaviour.

• Intimidationandharassment.

• Gangsofyouthscausingnuisance.

• Domesticviolence.

• Anylawbreakingactivitythatisnotanemergency.

Forthefollowingproblems,pleasecallConnecttoCardiff(C2C)on02920872087.

• Brokenstreetlighting.

• Abandonedvehicles.

• Dumpingandflytipping.

Foranynoisenuisancecomplaints,includingbarkingdogsandloudpartiesandmusic(seebelow)pleasecallPollutionControlon02920871650.Thisnumberalsooperatesoutofhours.

YoushouldalwaysreportneighbournuisanceofanysorttoTaffHousingAssociationaswellasthenumbersabove.WenowhaveadedicatedTaffHousingAssociationOut-of-HoursAnti-SocialBehaviourReportingLineon02920259100.Pleaseusethislineifyouareaffectedbynuisanceandanti-socialbehaviouroutofofficehours.Assoonaswereturntoworkanofficerwillcallyoutodiscussthisreportandtakeaction.

IN EMERGENCY PLEASE CALL 999

IfyouareunsureaboutwhattodopleasespeaktoyourHousingOfficer.

Othercontactnumbersarelistedinthe‘UsefulContacts’sectionofthishandbook.

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What We Will Do If We Receive A Report Of Anti-Social Behaviour Or NuisanceAsaresponsiblesociallandlord,TaffHousingAssociationiscommittedtopreventingandaddressingincidentsofanti-socialbehaviourandharassment,andsupportingtenantsandotherresidentswhosufferasaresultofothers.Weaimtoresolvedisputesbetweenneighboursasquicklyandappropriatelyaspossible

Avictim-centredapproachwillensurethatallincidentsperceivedtoconstituteanti-socialbehaviourorharassmentwillbeinvestigatedimmediatelyandthoroughly.Wewilldealsensitivelywithallreportsofanti-socialbehaviourorharassmentandwillseektosupportvictimsbyworkingwiththemtofindandagreeanapproachwithwhichtheyarecomfortable.

Initially,wewilltrytoresolvetheprobleminformallybydiscussingthecomplaintswithallpartiesconcernedandtryingtoreacharesolution.Wewillnottakesidesandwillalwaysstrivetolistentobothsidesofthestory.Thismayincludetheuseofaprofessionalmediator.Ifthisapproachfails,wecanconsiderthefollowingaction.Anyactiontakenwillbebasedonthefactsofeachcase,andtheevidenceavailable.

• Wewillconsiderallavailablelegalremedies.TheseincludeInjunctions,DemotionofTenancyOrders,Anti-SocialBehaviourOrdersandPossessionProceedings,leadingtoeviction.Pleaseremember,however,thatsuchactioncanonlybetakenwhereclearevidenceexiststosupportit.

• Wherewedonothavethepowertoact,orwhereotheragenciesarebetterplacedandequippedtodealwithasituation,wewillmakethisclear.Insuchsituationswewillworkwiththoseotheragenciesand,wherepossible,takeactiontocomplementtheirapproach.Forexample,someactsofanti-socialbehaviourarealsocriminaloffencesandTaffwillworkwithvictimsandthepolicetoaddresssuchproblemswherethisisnecessary.

• Wewilldrawupan‘actionplan’withyousothatyouareclearaboutwhatwewillbedoing.

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About MediationManyneighbourproblemscanbesortedoutbytalkingthingsthroughandcomingtoanagreement.Werecognisethatsometimesthiscanbedifficult.Insuchcases,wecanreferyoutoanindependentmediator.Theirjobistofacilitatesuchdiscussionsandtoensurethateveryone:

• Feelssafe.

• Isabletohavetheirsay.

• Reachesaresolutionthatallpartiesarehappywith.

Themediationserviceisfree,completelyimpartial,completelyindependent,andcompletelyconfidential.Themediatorwillnotdiscussanythingyousaywiththehousingassociation,unlessyougiveyourconsent,butwillreportprogress,forexamplewilllettheAssociationknowifbothpartiesareattendingthemeetings.

About The Victim And Witness Support ServiceThisserviceisfree,confidentialandindependentoftheAssociationandcanprovideyouwithpracticalhelp,informationandsupport,aswellassomeonetotalkto.

IfyouwouldliketoknowmoreyoucanaskyourHousingOfficertoreferyou,oryoucancontacttheVictimSupportTeamdirectlyon08456121900www.victimsupport.org.uk