Housing association landlord refusing to deal with dangerous neighbour

[Queenofheaven]

Hi everyone, I'm in England and our landlord is a housing association. We live in a converted flat (3 flats and we are in the middle).

Our upstairs neighbour moved in straight from prison. He had been convicted for a violent robbery against a family and served 13 years. We've been complaining to the landlord since he moved in. He threatens delivery people, people in the street, people on the phone, blasts insanely loud music daily (it vibrates the whole house). He threatened to beat up my partner when we complained. We have to leave the flat whenever he plays music or is threatening to kill people on the phone. It has ruined our lives.

It has been 7 years and nothing was ever done. Recently he threatened to kill a teenager that was in his flat. He also kept screaming "don't you know I kill people?" Right outside our door. Random people on the street called the police (that's how loud he is)- and nothing was done, apart from his daughter was taken from him.

He has had people show up outside our flat with machetes looking to fight him.
I reported the latest incident on the day it happened and was told I'd hear back within 48 hours. I also made two formal complaints which were never responded to. It's been a month and I've just managed to get through to them. All they've said is they need "his side of the story" and to conduct interviews with him. I've told them I believe this is putting us in danger as he'll know we've reported. They also said his previous criminal history "doesn't matter".

When I spoke to our local police team they were much more understanding and said they wouldn’t contact him directly so they don’t put us at risk, but that ultimately it’s a landlord issue.

Steps I've already taken:
Reporting to the landlord multiple times, including formal and internal complaints- for years now.

Contacting the police and reporting incidents (I'm still in contact with a safer neighbourhoods team who are contacting ASB officers)

Sending noise recordings to the council via the noise app.

Complained to the Housing Ombudsman who is reviewing evidence.

I genuinely feel the landlord is putting us in danger as our doors are very flimsy and the communal areas aren't safe. I believe he has gang affiliation too. What else can I do? Please do not just tell me to move, I want to know what legal action I can take. I haven’t yet contacted my local councillor so I will try that tomorrow.

*editing to add: the music he plays is so loud it vibrates the entire building, the threats he makes to people are always very violent, he has been in breech of his tenancy for years and nothing has been done. The complaints I've made to the landlord have been about the ASB but also how the landlord is handling this and they have not been responded to.I also haven't included every incedent in this post as there's too many to list.

That's awful! Do any children live in the building? If so, major safeguarding issue. Gone are the days when anyone should have to put up with violent, unpredictable and threatening neighbours.

Your community housing officers behaviour makes me incredibly suspicious

Not since his daughter was taken away!

Me too, I’ve wondered if he knows the neighbour in some way. He’s a new guy. We had a different housing officer last year and she was much better and actually followed appropriate protocol.

Thats what i was thinking . Something isnt right there.

The two tier policing really fucks me off We need to address the classism in the police as well as the misogyny

What youve described is predominantly a police issue - not a landlord one. The police need to be called every single time he threatens someone, get a ring doorbell to record any incidences & send that to the police.

The landlord needs evidence of what your neighbour is doing & as it what he is doing is criminal, the police need to be dealing with the situation. Any action that the police take against him can be used as evidence by the landlord in court to remove him from the tenancy.

Good luck

Coming to social housing soon

https://x.com/MediocreDave/status/1805946501266321526

Have you any idea how social housing works? You can't just move. If you mean why doesn't OP rent privately, then I suggest you take a look at the cost of rent and the housing crisis gripping the country. In my city it's around £1,200 per month excluding bills and council tax for little more than a bedsit. That's if you can find anything.

On top of that, landlords will only take the creme de la creme of tenants. If one of you is unemployed, pregnant, disabled or has the slightest blemish on your credit rating.forget it. Yes, I know it's illegal but just try proving it. They also want six months rent plus a deposit up front.

You can request a transfer with social/HA housing but this can be refused and anyway, good luck with that. Nobody is going to do a swap either when you've got a madman living next door.

The police come time and time again and do nothing and have also explicitly said it’s a landlord issue. They should have evicted him years ago. We’ve sent plenty of proof over the years too.

Have you now asked for the community trigger?

It’s not possible atm because we have to have reported a certain number of issues to police within the past 3 months which we haven’t.

This has all been over many years, and we gave up reporting during many of those years due to nothing ever happening. The local councillor said she’s trying to take it further with the council. The community police officer said he’s contacting the landlord, and also said there’s no case agaisnt him open with ASB police which is absolutely baffling:

Also the police have been here loads but called by other people- and the landlord are making a huge issue of this bc we don’t have any crime reference numbers for those visits since we weren’t the ones who called.

Which HA is this?

L&Q

@JenniferBooth (sorry to OP for slight derail). My constituency is marginal Labour/Tory. I noticed both candidates here are going on about housing for families. Obviously important but although I have kids I think it's disgusting if single or childless/childfree people are ignored. They deserve decent affordable housing too.

You can take an action in the Magistrates Court for private nuisance. However the person who you are complaining about will be summoned and that may escalate things.
I see you've made a complaint to the Housing Ombudsman. There is little else available.
In your position I would seek a mutual exchange, or to be rehoused by your HA.

L & Q are dreadful, in that they frequently have Ombudsman decisions against them.

The Elephant and Castle neighbourhood is being physically, socially and ethnically transformed. This started with the demolition of the Heygate estate, a classic for stigmatised perceptions of council housing and the people who live in it. As the local 35% Campaign has meticulously documented, a succession of promises to Heygate residents were broken to arrive at a situation where 1,214 council homes were demolished, to be replaced with 2,704 new homes, of which only 82 (3%) are for social rent. The HA partner was London and Quadrant. To be eligible for the cheapest one-bedroom home built by them on the Heygate site, people needed a minimum household income of £57,500. The average household income in that part of Southwark is £24,324

From 2019

They really are. I was reading a case where a resident had ended up being assaulted by their neighbour despite having reported anti social behaviour to the landlord for years. I have no hope anymore

It's GeneralElection time, write to newspaper anonymously. Alert all local candidates and ask which one will take action with Parole services, Police, Landlord etc.

You need to raise a community trigger.

https://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/housing_conditions/nuisance_and_asb/community_trigger_and_remedies

I am so sorry to hear this OP.

Another case here

https://x.com/Wynter1991

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