Behaviour (section 14)

14.1.  You are responsible for the behaviour of every person (including children) living in or visiting your home. This responsibility applies to behaviour inside your home, in shared areas (stairs, lifts, entrance halls, pathways, shared gardens, parking areas, etc.) and in the neighbourhood around your home.

14.2.  You, your pets, and anyone living with you or visiting you must not do anything that causes or is likely to cause a nuisance, annoyance, disturbance, or danger to anyone living, visiting, or working in the neighbourhood. Examples of such behaviour include but are not limited to:

a)       Making loud noise and/or noise during unreasonable hours
b)       Intimidating, abusive, offensive and/or threatening behaviour
c)       Slamming doors
d)       Allowing dogs to bark excessively and not cleaning up dog mess
e)       Fly tipping, rubbish dumping or littering
f)       Playing ball games close to someone else’s home or vehicle
g)       Throwing anything at another person or at another property
h)       Throwing anything off of balconies or out of windows, balconies, or roofs
i)        Sweeping and/or washing material on to the premises below
j)       Playing loud music including having noisy parties and congregations
k)       Loud arguments and/or fighting
l)        Damaging or vandalising any Council property including graffiti
m)      Setting fires including bonfires
n)       Riding motorbikes, mopeds, quad bikes, unlicensed vehicles, bikes and/or skateboards anywhere other than on the road, such as footpaths, grassed areas, and balconies
o)       Installing or using equipment such as aerials to operate illegal radio broadcasts from any Council property or shared roof
p)       Jamming shared doors open
q)       Breaking shared security, for example allowing strangers to get into the building
r)       Obstructing any shared areas, doorways or exits
s)       Begging
t)       Storing materials that may catch fire or blow up (or vehicles that use these materials) in your home or in shared areas

14.3.  You (or anyone living with you or visiting your home) must not harass, threaten, assault, or abuse any other person. Examples of such behaviour include but are not limited to:

a)       Racist behaviour or language
b)       Using or threatening to use violence towards anyone
c)       Using abusive or insulting behaviour or words including through the use of social media or any other social platform
d)       Stalking someone
e)       Damaging or threatening to damage another person’s home or possessions or other Council property
f)       Writing threatening, abusive, or insulting graffiti
g)       Verbally abusing, harassing, trying to intimidate or using violence against any staff employed by or contracted to the Council
h)       Making false or malicious complaints about the behaviour of any other person
i)        You must not leave drug paraphernalia in any area where others might come into contact with them

14.4.  You must not discriminate against anyone because of their race, colour, religion or nationality, sex, age, culture, mental or physical disability, learning disability, sexual orientation, gender re-assignment or for any other reason. You must be tolerant of the different lifestyles of others.

14.5.  You (or anyone living with you or visiting your home) must not:

a)       Inflict domestic abuse or threaten violence against any other person living with you or elsewhere
b)       Harass or use physical, mental, emotional, sexual, or financial abuse against any other person living with you or elsewhere

14.6.  You (or anyone living with you or visiting your home) must not use your home or any shared area or any area in the neighbourhood for any criminal and/or immoral activity. Examples of such behaviour include but are not limited to:

a)       Prostitution
b)       Human trafficking
c)       Exploitation and abuse of children and adults including being involved in illegal pornography
d)       Possessing, cultivating/manufacturing, dealing and/or taking illegal drugs
e)       Keeping illegal or unlicensed firearms, ammunition, or weapons
f)       Storing or handling stolen or counterfeit goods
g)       Criminal behaviour including theft, burglary, robbery and/or assault
h)       Storage of items or materials in your home that may be used for immoral or illegal purposes
i)        Cybercrime

Gang involvement

14.7.  You or any person living with you must not become a member of a gang and/or allow a member of a gang to visit the property and/or become involved in gang related activity or violence.

14.8.  When we refer to a gang, we mean the definition applied by the Metropolitan Police Authority as amended from time to time which is ‘a group of individuals involved in persistent criminality for some form of personal gain (this includes profit and/or to gain or to demonstrate status) which is causing significant harm to the community and/or is of cross border concern.’ Significant harm can have one or more of the following characteristics: significant profit or loss; significant impact on community safety; serious violence; corruption; exercise of control.

Consequences of breaching these terms

14.9.  If you breach any of the above terms, the Council may take legal action against you. This includes, amongst other things:

a)       Applying for an Injunction Order with (or without) a Power of Arrest attached against you.
b)       Seeking an order that your tenancy be demoted to a Demoted Tenancy
c)       Seeking a Possession Order to allow the Council to evict you from your home
d)       Applying to the court for a Suspension Order suspending your right to buy for a period that the court may specify