Section 7 - Living in your home

If you have a garden, you are responsible for ensuring it is looked after and kept in a reasonable condition. You should not use your garden to store rubbish, old furniture, vehicles or vehicle parts.

You must apply in writing to Trent & Dove Housing if you are thinking of running a business from home. We will then carry out a full assessment, including its effect on your neighbours. You should also contact the Local Authority

to check if you would need planning permissions. Most properties are not suitable as premises for running a business.

You must not use your home for any illegal purposes, such as dealing in drugs, prostitution, or storing stolen goods or keeping unlicensed firearms.

We take these matters very seriously and will take steps against any leaseholder who uses their home in this way, or who commits a serious crime in or near the property.

Our aim is to deal with all reports of anti-social behaviour (ASB) quickly and effectively. The law describes anti-social behaviour as “acting in a manner that causes or is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress”.

Some examples of ASB include:

• Hate crimes involving racial harassment or religious beliefs
• Domestic violence
• Vandalism and graffiti
• Violence
• Verbal abuse
• Swearing
• Alcohol and drug abuse
• Loud music
• Car repairs and inconsiderate parking
• Noisy

As a Trent & Dove leaseholder, you are responsible for making sure that everyone living with or visiting you treats your home and the neighbourhood with respect and follows the rules set out in your lease.

Most of our customers never cause or experience anti-social or nuisance behaviour. However, a few people do and the following information refers to them.

Living near someone who behaves anti- socially can be unpleasant and stressful and can make life a misery. When problems first arise it is often better to speak to the people involved. They may not realise that their behaviour is affecting you. If you approach them calmly and sensibly, you may be able to work out a solution together. This is particularly relevant where issues about parking or noise are a problem.

Reporting ASB

We take reports of ASB seriously and will take action to help prevent and resolve any problems. If you want to report an incident of ASB you can contact us by telephone on 01283 528528, by letter or e-mail enquiries@trentanddove.org

You will need to give us as much detail as possible, including the name of the person(s) you want to contact us about, their address, what has happened and whether or not you have spoken to them directly about the issue.

We appreciate that a quick response is important when you report ASB and we have set timescales for dealing with incidents. You can find out more about how we deal with ASB on our website.

Mediation

We offer a mediation service, which is an independent, confidential organisation skilled in bringing about resolutions between neighbours. Mediation does not need to be face to face. The mediator can shuttle between the parties concerned to see if they can help all to reach a compromise or agreement. If you would like to be put in touch with this service, please contact us on 01283 528528.