Being a good neighbour

21 February 2024

We all have a responsibility to be a good neighbour

Antisocial behaviour or causing a nuisance or annoyance to your neighbours stops them from enjoying their home. The behaviour of family members, lodgers or friends who visit can also cause problems.

As the tenant you are responsible for their behaviour when they are in your home.

We have antisocial behaviour investigators who have expertise in dealing with neighbour complaints and who deal with the more serious antisocial behaviour cases.

Find out more about Neighbour Disputes and Antisocial Behaviour.

Garden

If you have a garden area attached to your house, you must take reasonable care to keep it from becoming overgrown, untidy or causing a nuisance. If you fail to do the work you are in breach of your tenancy agreement and we may pursue court action against you.

Garden maintenance scheme

If you can't look after your garden due to age or disability and have no one to help, then you can apply to the Council for help. We run a scheme to help tenants who cannot manage their own garden.

The scheme is available to tenants who are over 60 years of age or tenants who have a permanent physical disability. Tenants applying on the grounds of disability will be asked to provide documentary evidence from their GP or other medical practitioner in support of their application.

If anyone aged over 16, and under 60, is living with you and is not a registered carer for a member of the household, they would be expected to do the gardening, provided they are able to do so.

If tenants are in receipt of housing/council tax benefits the service is provided free of charge. If not in receipt of benefits there is currently a charge of £30 per annum which is payable after all services have been provided.

Find out more and how to apply for the garden maintenance scheme

Storage in common areas

No property belonging to you or anyone else living with you or visiting you, including bicycles, motorcycles or prams, should be placed or stored in any of the common parts except in areas which are specifically set aside for storage of your property.

You must not do anything which may cause inconvenience or danger to anyone using the common parts.

Household waste

All your household waste for collection should be placed in the bin store or other proper place allocated for it. Please ensure that your waste is properly bagged and sealed.

If your bins are normally collected from the street, they should not be put out earlier than the evening before the day of collection. Please ensure bins are returned to their normal storage place as soon as possible after they have been collected.

If you need to dispose of large items such as furniture, electrical items and white goods please contact Waste Management Services to arrange a special uplift.

Find out more about waste and recycling

Door entry systems

Door entry systems are installed for your security, but will only be effective if you and your visitors follow these rules:

No access should be given to unidentified callers
Entry doors should never be jammed open as this will damage the system
Visitors should only call the flat number of the property they are visiting.

Report any faults to the Housing Repairs team.

Stair cleaning

If you share a common stair, you must take your turn in regularly cleaning, washing and keeping the area tidy.

If you and your neighbours can't agree on the arrangements for doing this, or fail to do the work, a rota will be provided. We will carry out regular inspections to ensure common areas are kept clean and tidy.

Keeping animals

If you want to keep a pet you need our permission. Please contact your Housing Officer who will advise you what to do.

Any permission granted will be subject to the following conditions:

You are responsible for supervising and keeping your pet under control
You must take all reasonable steps to prevent your pet causing a nuisance to anyone in your neighbourhood
You must take reasonable care that the pet does not foul or cause any damage