Antisocial behaviour toolkit

We ask all customers who have access to Coastline's communal areas to be mindful of others sharing these spaces.

Customers should only allow access to communal areas for people you know.

If you see people who aren’t Coastline customers accessing communal areas and causing antisocial behaviour please report this to the police so we can work with them to stop this.

If we receive reports of your visitors disturbing others you will be held responsible and we will take action against you and your tenancy if antisocial behaviour continues.

Play is an important part of a child’s development and wellbeing. Children playing in properties or outside on the street can create noise that may disturb the people around them but in most cases this wouldn’t be treated as anti-social behaviour. 

Neighbours can have differences in lifestyles and should try to accommodate each another when they can. We would recommend speaking with your neighbour if you’re experiencing this kind of disturbance.

If you have concerns for the immediate safety of a child you should call 999. In other situations, Cornwall Council's 'Together for Families' children's services department has a duty of care towards children at risk. You should make them aware of any concerns that you have, providing as much detail as possible. We will work with social services to support families when we need to be involved.

Crime

Arson, gun and knife crime, sexual offences, physical violence or threats of abuse and violence are all examples of serious criminal offences that you should report to the police. Always call 999 in an emergency. 

We will work with the police to offer support if you are the victim of a crime which has happened in your community. The police will often need to lead in serious cases and some of the action Coastline can take depends on the outcomes of criminal court cases.

We will keep in touch so you are kept informed throughout this process.

This is criminal behaviour.

Cuckooing is a term used to describe a situation where criminals exploit a vulnerable person and use their home for illegal activities, such as storing and selling of drugs. The person may be threatened, harmed or abused by the criminals.

Signs to look out for

• Frequent visitors to the person's home.
• Different vehicles stopping outside the person's home and not staying long.
• Your neighbour being absent or isolated for long periods.

If you suspect cuckooing, please contact the Police on 101 or 999.

Provide the crime reference number to us - this will help us take the appropriate action.

Please contact us if items are fly-tipped on Coastline land. We have CCTV which covers some areas, but we’ll also ask you for information about who may have carried out the fly-tipping and whether you witnessed it taking place.

Vehicle registration numbers can be helpful in identifying individuals or business that may be fly-tipping.

This information helps us work with the local authority (Cornwall Council) to challenge fly-tippers and recover the costs of clearing any rubbish. 

If your neighbour has left rubbish near their property for a period of time please speak with them to see if they have plans to clear it.

If the rubbish continues to cause a nuisance please contact us so we can deal with this. Look out for us on our Community standard inspections too.

Fraud

If you have concerns that your neighbour has abandoned their property, or is letting someone live there instead of them, please contact us so we can discuss this with you.

It is important that we take as many details from you as possible. This may include when you last saw your neighbour, or if they have said anything to you which suggests that they are living in a different property.

Subletting

‘Subletting’ is when a tenant gives the full use of their property to someone else on a long-term basis, and charges them rent.

Tenants are able to ask for Coastline’s permission to have other people join their households, or to have lodgers who pay them to use a room in a property where the main tenant is also living.

However, Coastline customers and leaseholders are not permitted to advertise their properties for let on ‘Airbnb’ or similar holiday letting websites.

If you think this is happening in a Coastline property please contact us.

More information is available on Your tenancy explained

This is a criminal offence.

A hate crime is an incident motivated by hostility or prejudice towards someone because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or gender identity.

This can include intimidation, bullying, vandalism, verbal abuse, or physical assault.

All hate crimes should be reported to the Police by calling 101 or 999 and you must also let them know if you're concerned about your safety.

What we will do

• Our priority is to keep you safe.
• We will help our customers to report hate crime to the Police and work closely with the Police to resolve hate crime.
• We can provide extra security in your home if you need it.

Gardens & bonfires

Gardens

Coastline customers are required to maintain any garden spaces attached to their properties - including trees - and keep them free from rubbish. If the condition of your neighbour’s garden is causing you nuisance, you should first speak with them to make them aware of this if this is safe for you to do so. You can also use the Neighbour Template to do this.

Coastline can only become involved in cases where there is a serious issue with the condition of a garden that you have been unable to resolve by speaking with your neighbour. Examples include unmaintained trees which are damaging your property or a build-up of rubbish attracting pests.

Bonfires

Occasional bonfires (for example one per month) are reasonably permitted although we would encourage customers to refer to the guidelines given by Cornwall Council. You should notify your neighbours that you are having a bonfire and it should be small enough to be easily controlled, and appropriate safety precautions taken.

Regular bonfires, or the burning of hazardous materials, would be considered a nuisance. Please report this to the Environment Agency. We will work with them to take any further action that might be needed.

Please report all criminal damage on Coastline land and property, including graffiti, to us and the police.

If we know who has caused the damage we will support the police in taking appropriate action.

We aim to remove (or paint over) offensive graffiti within 24 working hours, of being reported.

In most instances graffiti is not offensive and we aim to remove it within 3 weeks. Where we cannot remove non offensive graffiti, it will remain there, until the area is next due its cyclical re-decoration.

We also check for graffiti during Community standard inspections

Pets

Your tenancy agreement will say how many pets you’re allowed to have and whether you need permission from us before getting them. If you haven't received our consent for a pet and we have evidence of it causing nuisance, we can request that it is re-homed. 

In some properties there are covenants which mean that no pets can be kept. 

Dogs

Some barking is normal dog behaviour and wouldn’t be treated as anti-social unless there was evidence of it causing persistent nuisance. Please refer to our noise page for more details.

We expect customers who own dogs to be mindful of their neighbours by limiting the amount of time their dog is left alone in a property, keeping them under control in communal areas, and picking up waste in both communal areas and private gardens. 

If your neighbour’s dog is causing you nuisance, please speak with them in the first instance if it is safe for you to do so.

There are breeds of dog which are classified as dangerous, although any dog which displays aggressive behaviour should be reported to the police. Once you’ve reported an incident to them please contact us with a reference number so we can work with them to take any further action.

If you have concerns that a dog is being mistreated please contact the RSPCA.

Parking

If a neighbour is regularly parking in a way that prevents you from accessing your home, or is using a parking space which has been allocated to you, we first ask that you speak with them in the first instance and if this is safe for you to do so, to make them aware that what they're doing is causing a nuisance.

If the problem carries on, please contact us and we’ll advise what action we can take. 

Coastline can only become involved with cases where the issue is happening on land owned by us. Where cars are parked on public highways, Cornwall Council is responsible for managing any local parking regulations and the police have the power to remove vehicles causing an obstruction when this is necessary.

There are no limits on the numbers of vehicles a household can own, providing that these vehicles have valid tax and MOT certificates. However, we ask that residents are considerate of each other where parking spaces are limited. 

• You can check whether a vehicle has valid tax and an MOT here.
• You can rent garages or parking spaces from Curo here.

Depending on where you live there may be covenants in place restricting the use of certain vehicles. Please make sure you are familiar with these. 

Abandoned vehicles

We can take action to remove vehicles that are abandoned on Coastline land. A vehicle will be considered abandoned if it doesn't have a valid MOT and tax certificate. If you think a vehicle may be abandoned, check with your neighbours first to see who the vehicle might belong to. If the vehicle isn’t removed, or if its MOT and tax records aren’t updated, please contact us so we can take the appropriate action. 

Vehicles registered as off the road (SORN) cannot be kept on Coastline land. If you require a garage, find out about our garages to rent.

Customers may carry out repairs to their own vehicles providing this is done safely without causing nuisance to others. If vehicle repairs are causing a nuisance, please speak with your neighbour to make them aware. If the problem continues, please contact us so we can discuss this with you. 

We will also use community standard inspections to check for abandoned vehicles and issues with parking.

We expect neighbours to behave respectfully to one another and to resolve any disagreements amicably. If disagreements cannot be easily resolved, we would usually recommend to both parties that they do not contact one another.

If you continue to experience harassment - such as regular unwanted contact that causes you nuisance - please contact us so we can discuss how to support you.

If this abuse is serious, such as a threat to harm you, you should report this to the police before contacting us. We will work with the police to support you.

If we receive evidence that you are being abusive or harassing your neighbour, action will be taken against you and your tenancy.