Anti-Social Behaviour.

1. Our commitment

MDM Homes is committed to creating safe, peaceful homes for every tenant in our portfolio. Anti-social behaviour (ASB) can have a serious impact on people's wellbeing, mental health and quality of life. Where it occurs, we will take it seriously, investigate properly, and take proportionate action — including, where necessary, possession proceedings.

This policy applies to all properties owned and managed by MDM Homes, all our tenants, and any visitors or members of a tenant's household.

2. What we class as anti-social behaviour

Anti-social behaviour is conduct that has caused, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to another person — and which is unreasonable in the context. We use this in line with the statutory definition under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

Examples of behaviour we treat as ASB include:

• Persistent excessive noise — late-night parties, music played at unreasonable hours, shouting and arguing audible outside the property
• Verbal abuse, intimidation or threatening behaviour towards neighbours, tenants in shared housing, or our staff and contractors
• Harassment, including hate-related behaviour based on race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability
• Domestic abuse, where this affects others in the household or the wider community
• Drug-dealing, drug-taking causing nuisance, or use of the property for criminal activity
• Vandalism, graffiti, or damage to property — including communal areas in shared housing
• Aggressive or anti-social use of vehicles — repeatedly revving, blocking access, or unauthorised parking
• Persistent failure to control pets, including allowing dogs to bark continuously or to behave aggressively
• Allowing rubbish, fly-tipping or hoarding to affect the property or neighbouring homes
• Allowing visitors to engage in any of the above

3. What we don't usually treat as ASB

Some things tenants find annoying don't, on their own, amount to anti-social behaviour. We will not normally take formal action over:

• Children playing — including normal noise during the day in gardens or shared spaces
• Everyday household sounds — footsteps, doors closing, normal conversation, the occasional baby crying, household appliances
• One-off events — a single late-night gathering for a birthday or special occasion, where neighbours have been told
• Cooking smells, garden bonfires within local-authority limits, or cultural/religious practices that are lawful and reasonable
• Lifestyle differences — different working hours, sleeping patterns or social customs, where these don't unreasonably affect others
• Personal disputes between neighbours that don't involve harassment or threats

We may suggest mediation or signpost to your local authority's community mediation service in these cases.

4. How to report ASB

The sooner you report ASB, the sooner we can act. There are three ways to log a report:

Through Tenant Cloud — the preferred channel, because it creates a permanent, time-stamped record we can refer back to. Choose "Other / ASB" when raising the ticket.

By the report form below — for tenants and neighbours who don't have a Tenant Cloud account.

By email — for an incident in progress out of hours, email oncall@mdmhomes.co.uk. We monitor it closely and aim to respond within 6 hours.

If a crime is being committed, or if you feel in immediate danger, call 999 first and then notify us.

5. How we respond

Once a report is logged, we will:

• Acknowledge within 1 working day, and confirm the named contact who will handle the case
• Triage by severity. Reports involving violence, threats, hate crime or vulnerable people are treated as urgent
• Investigate — gathering evidence, listening to all parties involved, contacting witnesses where relevant, and liaising with the police, local authority or other agencies if needed
• Keep you updated at each stage. Even where we cannot share details of action taken against another tenant (for confidentiality reasons), we will tell you that the matter is being progressed
• Close the case with a clear written outcome once the matter is resolved or the appropriate action is in train

Most reports we receive can be resolved without formal action, often through a constructive conversation with the tenant whose behaviour is being complained about.

6. Action we may take

Depending on the severity, frequency and impact of the behaviour, the steps we may take include:

• An informal conversation with the tenant responsible
• A formal warning letter setting out the behaviour and the consequences of it continuing
• An Acceptable Behaviour Agreement (ABA) — a signed undertaking with clear conditions
• Mediation between the parties involved, where appropriate
• Working with the police, local authority ASB team, or other agencies on a joint case
• Serving a notice seeking possession on grounds of anti-social behaviour, where this is justified
• Applying to court for an injunction, possession order, or — in extreme cases — a closure order on the property

The Renters' Rights Act 2026 strengthens the grounds on which possession can be sought from tenants who commit anti-social behaviour. We will use these powers proportionately and only after due process.

7. Support and confidentiality

If you are reporting ASB, your wellbeing matters. We will:

• Treat your report confidentially. We will only share information with third parties (police, local authority) where this is necessary to progress the case, and where lawful to do so
• Discuss with you any concerns about retaliation before taking visible action
• Signpost you to victim support services, your local authority ASB team, or specialist services (such as Refuge or the National Domestic Abuse Helpline) where relevant
• Recognise the additional impact ASB can have on tenants who are vulnerable, disabled, elderly, or from minority communities, and adjust our response accordingly

We do not require complainants to keep diaries or gather their own evidence as a precondition of action — though contemporaneous notes are always helpful.

8. Hate crime and emergency contacts

Hate-motivated behaviour — targeting someone because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or other protected characteristic — is treated as an aggravating factor in any ASB case, and reported to the police as a hate crime.

• 999 — Police, in an emergency or where a crime is in progress
• 101 — Police, non-emergency reporting
• oncall@mdmhomes.co.uk — MDM Homes out-of-hours email (we respond within 6 hours)
• 0808 2000 247 — National Domestic Abuse Helpline (24 hours, free)
• report-it.org.uk — True Vision, online hate-crime reporting

9. Policy review

This policy is reviewed every two years, or sooner where there are significant changes to legislation, regulator guidance or our own portfolio. We welcome feedback from tenants — if there is something here you think we have missed or could explain better, please write to us.

We will not tolerate behaviour that takes away another tenant's right to enjoy their home in peace. Equally, we will be fair, proportionate, and supportive at every stage.