Disruptive tenant forced out of home

Wakefield and District Housing (WDH) has become one of the first housing providers to successfully apply for the closure of a property due to the occupant’s Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB). 

Thanks to some exhaustive work by WDH in partnership with the police and Wakefield Council, the application to close the property on Duke of York Avenue, Wakefield, was granted at Wakefield Magistrates court last week. 

As well as ordering the closure of the property, the court also issued an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) on the occupant, 61 year old Susan Harris, which prohibits her from causing harassment, alarm and distress to any person, playing loud music from any other address, or approaching her neighbour. 

The closure order prevents her from returning to the property. 

WDH becomes one of the first housing providers to enact the option of closure after the tenant broke the terms of an Anti-Social Behaviour Injunction (ASBI) taken against her following complaints from neighbours. 

“This closure is a great success for the local community," says WDH Tenancy Support Officer PC Ozzie Malik. "We have spent a lot of time building a case against the tenant after it became obvious that she was making life intolerable for her neighbours. 

“We have spent many hours getting this result – from sitting in neighbours’ homes until early in the morning recording the noise levels to taking statements and serving injunctions. 

“On its own, a closure would mean that while she couldn’t live in that particular home there was nothing stopping her moving in somewhere nearby, but the restriction order means she can’t be anywhere near the people she has previously upset.” 

WDH Service Director for Neighbourhoods, Richard Forster, says the closure is not only a testament to WDH’s commitment to tackling ASB, but also to the very strong partnership it has with local Neighbourhood Policing Teams and Wakefield Council’s Anti Social Behaviour Unit in a desire to make a difference to the lives of tenants in WDH estates. 

Richard Forster said: “In this partnership, our approach is to intervene at the earliest opportunity to ensure that people are aware of the consequences of their actions and the damage their behaviour can cause to others.

“We work to offer support to those who need it most and promote positive behaviour to help tenancies be successful. However, we do not hesitate in taking enforcement action against those who persistently cause harm in their neighbourhood and who fail to heed our warnings and will consider all forms of legal actions that are available to us.”