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Antisocial Behaviour


How does Territory Housing deal with antisocial behaviour?

When Territory Housing receives a complaint about antisocial behaviour (ASB) involving a public housing tenant, staff will speak to the tenant in the first instance to either substantiate or refute the complaint. Complaints are acknowledged in writing and the outcome of Territory Housing’s investigation into the behaviour is relayed back to complainants.

In some instances the behaviour is a one off incident and is quickly and easily resolved with the tenant being reminded of their obligations under the Tenancy Agreement they have signed with Territory Housing. However, if a tenant’s alleged behaviour seriously or repeatedly breaches the Tenancy Agreement, Territory Housing will take appropriate subsequent actions to include:

  • Refer tenants to external support agencies for advice and assistance
  • Undertake a neighborhood survey to determine how often the reported behaviour is occuring and how it is impacting on neighbours
  • Request Police attendances relating to ASB incidences
  • Implement a case management of the tenancy between the tenant and other agencies to identify a strategy to manage their tenancy successfully and to achieve improvements in their lives
  • Tenants may be requested to sign an Acceptable Behaviour Agreement which is an agreement not to engage in any kind of ASB
  • Assist tenants in having their dwelling declared alcohol restricted by the Licensing Commission
  • Apply to the courts or Commissioner of tenancies to have the tenancy agreement terminated and the tenant evicted. (See below for more details on eviction)
Serious ASB and Eviction

It is important for complainants to understand that Territory Housing is a provider of welfare housing to those in the community most in need and as such only seeks to terminate tenancies and evict tenants as a last resort.

In addition it is also important for neighbours who are affected by ASB to be aware that Territory Housing is usually only able to pursue eviction if people are willing to get involved in the process and attend a hearing before the Local Court or Commissioner of Tenancies to give evidence.

Complainants quite often do not understand why they need to get involved and just expect Territory Housing to ‘kick the tenants out’. The reason this level of involvement is necessary is because to successfully obtain an order of eviction from the Court, Territory Housing must provide clear and unequivocal evidence specifying the type and variety of ASB suffered by the neighbours. Eviction on the basis of ASB can be difficult to establish generally as the Court need to be satisfied that the nuisance complained of was not minor or a one off incident and that the tenant’s conduct of substantive and sustained disturbances is serious and ongoing.

Further, it is incumbent upon the Court to decide what, in their opinion based on the evidence before them, would be annoyance or grievance to reasonable, sensible people. The Court must be satisfied by argument and by evidence that reasonable people having regard to the ordinary use of a dwelling for pleasurable enjoyment would be annoyed or aggrieved by the conduct of the tenants. In circumstances where evidence is not sufficient, it is unlikely that Territory Housing will be successful with its application to terminate and evict.

To assist in this process complainants are encouraged to keep an accurate record of incidents of ASB. A good form of record is a diary that includes details such as the date and time of the incident, the nature of the behaviour, how long it lasted for, how it impacted on their peace and privacy and the use of their own property and how it made them feel eg. scared, intimidated etc.

Restricted Premises

If a dwelling has been declared restricted by the Licensing Commission pursuant to the Liquor Act the responsibility for dealing with any alleged breaches of the declaration rests with the Police. It is therefore important that neighbours who notice a Restricted Premise declaration being breached report the matter immediately to the Police.

As a landlord Territory Housing can only deal with any unacceptable conduct that may be associated with a breach of a restricted premise declaration but have no power to deal with the breach itself

For more detail on antisocial behaviour policy and procedures please go to Chapter 17 of the Territory Housing’s Operational Policy Manual.