It’s a dread for many, a ‘To Let’ board goes up next door and a new neighbour will be moving in. Will they be the perfect neighbour, or will they immediately start with late night loud music? Anti-social behaviour is all around and takes many forms, and can be addressed in a number of ways, but where a letting agent is involved it’s often the agent who receives the brunt of the complaint. It is very rare to receive a report from your tenant of the people next door!
Some examples of anti-social behaviour are:
There are other examples of inconsiderate behaviour which causes annoyance, but isn’t considered as anti-social. More information on the different types of behaviour can be found here.
When you receive a complaint about one of your tenants what should you, as an agent, do about it?
❓ Ask – ask questions of the complainant, how has this affected them. Is there anyone else who has experienced the same or witnessed the issues, have they tried talking to the offender, have they taken this complaint elsewhere, how many times has this happened including time of day and date? These types of questions will help you to determine the severity of the issue.
📝 Keep records – ensure you have noted the information you receive. This will help you to see if this is a one off (which may not be anti-social) or a prolonged issue with the tenant.
🗣 Advise – give advice and guidance to the complainant. It is often thought agents have a magic wand to fix anti-social behaviour, but rarely the case. The complainant is in a better position to amicably resolve the issue themselves, usually by talking to the person directly. It is often the case a tenant will react better to a polite and civil conversation over their agent having to discuss it with them. Citizens Advice gives some good information on the matter.
📃 Tenancy agreement – check the agreement to see what limitations and clauses are in place to prevent anti-social behaviour. There are also statutory regulations in place, for instance noise isn’t anti-social unless it happens between 11pm and 7am, which you can consider.
✉️ Communicate – if other avenues have not worked, you should communicate with the tenant to explain the report you have received. This is not to suggest you are accusing them, but acting on a report only and stating the terms of the agreement they have in place. You do not want to become the go-between. The tenant will usually have a good idea of who the complainant is, you should never confirm or deny. Advise the tenant to seek further advice if they feel the report is unjust, you are not here to give legal advice and should avoid any advice which could exacerbate the issue.
Do you have any examples where an issue was easily solved? What’s the most unusual issue which has been reported to you?
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