I have a Housing Question...SERIOUS replies only, pls!?

Question

A friend of mine rents a flat from a hsng assn (part of a house). A new tenant moved in and is a suspected drug dealer. She often comes home to find "hoodies" on her doortstep. She is disturbed by people ringing her buzzer at all hours. There have been several disturbances involving this tenant, people trying to kick down the communal front door and his flat front door, litter and human waste in the communal hallway, etc.

The man disappeared for a few weeks, and people tried to break into his flat. When the police came, drugs were found in the man's back garden.

My friend (and other tenants) have made several complaints to the housing assn but nothing has been done. After this they were told that this man would be served with an eviction notice.

However, she got a phone call from the housing assn today telling her that the man was not served the eviction notice and would be moving back in. Can the hsng assn do this? What, if any, are her rights?

Answer 1

I work for a Housing Association and we are actually currently going through a similar situation in a block of flats that we own.
Unfortunately, it's simply not straightforward enough to evict somebody because they have been convicted of dealing drugs. In order to compile any sort of case, the Housing Association will require many detailed diary sheets of what anti-social behaviour thy have experienced. They will need to have written complaints from more than one person in the block of flats, and also these complaints cannot be anonymous - for them to mean anything your friend and her neighbours would have to be wiling to put their name to any complaint they make.
Also, currently at my work we have a known drug dealer living in our block of flats, similar to your friend's situation there are people buzzing into the building all hours, people injecting in the common stair, people urinating, shouting, fighting etc etc. It is an absolutely horrendous situation to be living in but at the moment we are not allowed to do anything about it because the tenant in question is currently under investigation by the drug squad. He's obviously part of something much, much bigger than small-time dealing and therefore the police are launching a full investigation into him and his behaviour. Because we cannot jeopordise the investigation in any way, we are not allowed to issue formal warnings, threaten him with eviction etc, in case this effects the case the police are compiling against him. And the frustrating thing is, we are not allowed to tell the rest of the tenants in the stair about this - therefore they think we're not doing anything, altough in reality we are being prevented from confronting tis specific tenant about his behaviour.
My advice to your friend would be to write down EVERY SINGLE INCIDENT that she witnesses. Of course, any time she actually witnesses drug dealing, she should contact the police immediately, and also crimestoppers.
She should contact her housing association and ask for a meeting with her housing officer to get a better idea of what the housing staff are actually planning on doing about the problem tenant.
I know that a lot of people think it's simple - the guy's a drug dealer, he's broken the terms of his tenancy agreement, he gets evicted - unfortunately it just does not work that way. Dealing with anti-social and criminal behaviour like this is a really really long and drawn out process, there are no quick answers and certainly no easy solutions.

Hope this helps - seeing it from the housing assocaition's point of view.

Answer 2

I would suggest that she read her lease and see if there is any clause with regards to personal safety or anything like that. If there is, she should contact the assn about the clause. I would also contact the housing assn in writing to express the complaints that she is experiencing. Sometimes a complaint has to be submitted in writing before it is considered "official". She should save a copy of this letter and any reponses she receives. She should also photograph everything she can as proof in case she needs to break her lease. Document EVERYthing. She should also ask her neighbors to do the same. Get copies of their letters, if you feel comfortable asking.

I was once in a similar situation (someone attacking women in the building not a drug dealer) and had to break my lease because I just felt unsafe. I had to defend myself in court. If you have proof of the situation and the lack of response, you may fare better in court if it gets to that.

I would also suggest that she call the police every time something questionable is going on. His drug customers are going to be more reluctant to come around if the cops are always there. Maybe he will move to an easier place to sell.

(Please note that I am NOT a lawyer and this is just my opinion based on personal experience.)

Good luck!

Answer 3

I'd just keep calling the cops when things happen, the more complaints and the better the paper trail the better chance he has of getting evicted. Make sure you complain about things that the housing assn cares about to...to the housing assn., like the junk in the hallway and any weird smells or if his hoodies are urinating in the hallway, etc.

Answer 4

Given arf a chance I'd be long gone! Consider getting well out of it as soon as poss. Report even the slightest disturbance or suspicion to the police. As above contact your coucilor and MP. Keep bombarding these three with every legitimate complaint you can find (also the housing Assn.) Eventually someone will take notice and act. However for your safe3ty I suggest you keep doing your best to get well away from this area and particular property.

Answer 5

the health department should be notified.. a lot of this sounds like health code violations.. especially if there are children living in the building.. waste, drugs.. police reports.. dangerous people at all hours.

The health department can get the housing assn to do something. A lot of times when there is an assn involved they have to be careful of contracts that this tenant may have with the association.

Answer 6

All tenancy agreements with Housing associations and councils cover the issue with ASB. The Tenant is responsible for what happens at his property. This would include any visitors to his property, As the drugs were found in the gardens and not in his property he may have claimed that they were not his. If he is currently in prison for the offence, then he has clearly breached his tenancy agreement, Therefore the Housing Association have grounds on which to issue him with a possession order. If he has as yet not been convicted of any offence Your friend should Speak to the Housing Association and if she is unwilling to provide evidence for them to build a case because she fears for her safety then housing association can use CCTV and or professional witnesses. Un fortunately these things take time and there is often work going on in the background that the tenants don't see. Try to get your friend to work with The Housing Association and better still, get her other neighbours to assist too.
Good luck, its not a nice situation to be in, I hope it all comes good in the end.

Answer 7

I would suggest writing a 30 day notice to vacate. Forward the letter to the assn and demand that they evict this person or they will find her moving out. She has many, many rights in this situation.She needs to read her lease agreement and go about it the right way in order to have her deposit returned. She's not breaking the lease if the association isn't doing anything to ensure her safety.

Answer 8

I would recommend she speak with a lawyer...she and the other tennants may have a case...it should be worth at least speaking w/an attorney to find out.

I know we had a similar issue with tennants downstairs dealing drugs, ruining property, owned pitbulls...ugh. We ended up sending a notice to the landlord telling them that we would be putting our rent in an escrow account until the property was repaired, and the "security risks" eliminated. We did that for 3 months, then the tennants below moved out.

Answer 9

If it were me, as soon as I see the man on the property I would call the police, and report a drug tranaction at the location. I would do this annomously, have a friend call from a pay phone.

This will make the address "HOT", all activity would leave. This may need to be done several times.

Answer 10

You have to get your friend to move and ASAP! Let the housing authority deal with the drugs. Move your friend in with you if there is a way until she finds a different flat. She may be able to break her lease due to the drug situation ( ask a lawyer's advice< or have her talk dirrectly to the land lord and get things in writting).