Harassment of tenants
Where the victim is a tenant, s/he should try to establish whether or not the perpetrator is acting on the landlord's behalf. The action to be taken depends on who is harassing the tenant.
Action by tenants
Where the landlord is not involved the tenant could:
report incidents to the police
report incidents to the landlord. This may be a private landlord, a local authority or a housing association. All landlords have a responsibility to ensure that their tenants have the right to live undisturbed in their homes. This is often referred to as the 'right to quiet enjoyment' (or peaceful enjoyment).
raise an action of harassment. The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 is broad enough to cover neighbour problems as well as harassment from others.[1]
If the perpetrator is another tenant and there is evidence of harassment, the landlord may be able to take steps to evict the perpetrator through the courts. The acts complained about may well be a breach of the tenancy agreement by creating 'a nuisance or annoyance in the vicinity of the house' which can give the landlord a ground for eviction. [2] The landlord would have to prove both the ground for eviction, and that it is reasonable to grant the eviction.
Harassment in local authority or registered social landlord housing
Local authorities have the power as landlords to tackle harassment caused by other council tenants who are neighbours of the victim. The response to acts of harassment varies from one local authority to another.
In dealing with harassment, a local authority could:
take a victim-centred approach. This means that when a tenant approaches them complaining of harassment, s/he will be given the opportunity to decide what is the best course of action for her/him and will not be forced to take action against the perpetrator if she/he does not wish to
record, investigate and monitor incidents of racial harassment
take necessary steps to remove graffiti and repair any damage that has been caused as soon as it is discovered, thus reducing the distress to victims
increase security for victims
interview the perpetrator only with the victim's consent
warn the perpetrator and possibly take recovery of possession proceedings against them.
In some cases, it may be necessary for the local authority or housing organisation to temporarily or permanently re-house the victim if this what the victim wishes.
Last updated: 29 December 2014