Coastline Housing has used a new legal measure to deal with a tenant whose anti-social behaviour was making neighbours' lives a misery.
The tenant, from Nicholas Avenue, Four Lanes, was given a demoted tenancy following a hearing at Truro County Court. This is the first time Coastline Housing has used this particular tool to deal with a case of anti-social behaviour.
Demoted tenancies are a new measure to help housing associations deal with anti-social tenants. Introduced under the terms of the Anti Social Behaviour Act 2003, the agreement makes it easier for landlords to take quick action to end a tenancy if the anti-social behaviour persists.
Tenants on demoted tenancies also lose the right to buy and to exchange tenancies.
Kevin Brown, Housing Services Manager at Coastline, explained: "We had received a number of complaints about this case so began to work in conjunction with other local agencies and residents to take action.
"Anti-social behaviour can destroy lives and wreck communities if left unchecked. Coastline will use whatever legal tools are available to prevent nuisance and protect people living nearby."
In this instance, the tenant's neighbours all spent time completing diary evidence sheets in order to help Coastline Housing build a case.
Kevin added: "The moral of this story is that good evidence can win the day. A lot of people despair of anti-social behaviour incidents being solved, but every bit of evidence gathered and kept on file can result in making a real difference to communities looking to get help in this area. We do take every complaint seriously and we are determined to continue to keep working to combat anti-social behaviour locally."
