Dealing with antisocial behaviour

Neighbours may contact you to complain about tenants’ behaviour. The council might also get in touch if they have received complaints about noise or rubbish.  

Your tenants are responsible for the behaviour of themselves and their guests. But antisocial behaviour could be a breach of their tenancy agreement. So you need to take it seriously.

Antisocial behaviour can include: 

• violence or threats of violence
• very loud music, TV or noisy parties
• rubbish left outside the property
• drunken behaviour that disturbs others
• intimidating or harassing people
• using the property for illegal purposes – such as using or selling drugs 

How to deal with tenants causing antisocial behaviour

If your tenants have been antisocial you should: 

• send them a written warning
• explain what will happen if antisocial behaviour continues
• give details of agencies that might be able to offer support 

There may be reasons for the behaviour.  Your tenants might need help to manage their tenancy. You cannot force a tenant to accept help from a support agency. But you can tell them about organisations that can help. 

Our Housing Mediation Service can help to settle disputes between:

• landlord and tenants, and
• neighbours who are both private tenants

You can try to deal with the issue informally, but in some cases, you may need to: 

• speak to the tenant’s guarantor, or
• consider ending the tenancy, or
• report the matter to the police 

Tenancy agreements usually have a term about causing a nuisance to neighbours. 

You can end the tenancy if:  

• your tenants repeatedly or seriously breach this term, and
• their behaviour does not improve after your warning 

Landlords of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs)

The council could refuse to renew your HMO licence if you do not deal with antisocial behaviour.

As a HMO landlord, you must follow the: 

• HMO code of practice
• HMO standard licence conditions
• HMO guide for tackling antisocial behaviour 

HMO landlords must:

• have an antisocial behaviour plan
• say in the tenancy agreement what happens if there is a complaint about antisocial behaviour
• keep a record of any complaints of antisocial behaviour

A solicitor can help with drafting plans or tenancy agreements.

The HMO Unit for Northern Ireland may be contacted:

• by emailing [email protected]
• by phoning 028 9027 0414

Non-HMO landlords do not have to do this. But they should still deal fairly with complaints to avoid a situation getting out of hand.  

Noise complaints

Your tenants and their neighbours should try to deal with noise problems informally. If this is not possible, the council might get involved.  

The council can investigate noise complaints and they have the power to serve a legal notice on: 

• the person causing excessive noise, or
• the landlord 

Neighbours may contact you or your estate agent to complain about noisy tenants.

If this happens, you should: 

• listen to the neighbour’s complaints
• investigate to see if your tenants are causing a nuisance
• give your tenants a written warning if there is evidence of excessive noise
• remind them that causing antisocial behaviour could breach their contract 

Complaints about rubbish

HMO landlords must provide bins for rubbish and recycling. Non-HMO landlords are not legally required to do this. But tenants will expect to have the right bins on the property.  

Make sure bins are: 

• marked with the property address to avoid confusion
• labelled with what should go inside to avoid mixing items 

Tenants are responsible for putting bins out on the right collection days.

You should give tenants information about: 

• how rubbish and recycling should be sorted, and
• what day each bin is collected 

The council can issue a penalty notice if someone is not disposing of rubbish properly.  

Bin theft is common in some areas, and collection trucks can sometimes damage bins. You will have to pay for a new bin unless you can prove that the damage or theft was the tenant's fault.