What is anti-social behaviour?

Anti-social behaviour covers a wide range of persistent and unacceptable activity which negatively impacts the quality of community life.

The legal definition is behaviour which “causes or is likely to cause alarm or distress” Anti-social behaviour can have a negative impact on people’s lives, and we are committed to tackling it by working together to make our communities safer.

If you are experiencing anti-social behaviour and need to speak to us, you can call us during office hours Monday—Friday 9am– 5pm.

If you have a serious or urgent problem and are under threat, you should call Police Scotland on 999. For less urgent concerns, contact Police Scotland on 101.

Examples of anti-social behaviour

• serious assault
• serious harassment
• hate crime – based on race, sexual orientation, gender, disability or belief
• aggressive or abusive behaviour
• drug-related activity
• noise nuisance/disturbance
• neighbour disputes
• verbal/written harassment
• vandalism
• serious damage to property
• non-accidental fires
• graffiti
• dog fouling in public places
• fly-tipping.

What to do

If something your neighbour does upsets you then the best thing to do is to tell them about it straight away; they might not realise that they’re causing a problem. Try to resolve the issue before it becomes a serious problem and you fall out over it. Put yourself in their shoes, how would you feel if the first you knew of a problem was when a housing officer arrived at your door? If your neighbour approaches you about the problem, take the time to listen and try to see their point of view. If you do not listen and do not take the issue seriously, they may open a complaint against you. It is much better to deal with the issue between neighbours than to let it escalate into complaints

You can contact us if you feel that you are not able to approach your neighbour about the issue. Whilst we would not reveal your details, it may be obvious to your neighbour who has made the complaint against them.

Whilst we can offer help and advice when you are experiencing issues with your neighbours, we will only take action if your neighbour is our tenant and the issues you report are covered by the Scottish Secure Tenancy Agreement. We will not be able to become involved in tenant disputes which are not breaching the tenancy agreement.