Encouraging good neighbourly behaviour

The vast majority of housing tenants are good neighbours, who respect their neighbours and obey the terms and conditions of their tenancy agreement.

Tenancy conditions whether you are a renting from the private sector or from the local authority normally require that you or any of your household do not disturb the peace and quiet of your neighbours or the neighbourhood.

Tenants in private rented accommodation or in local authority accommodation must not behave, or allow a member of their household or visitor to behave in a manner that is anti-social.

Unfortunately, a small number of tenants do engage in anti-social behaviour and such tenants risk losing their tenancy.

In general action to deal with anti-social behaviour is a matter for An Gárda Síochaná however, a private landlord and the local authority can also terminate a tenancy if a tenant does not comply with the conditions of their tenancy agreement and engage in anti-social behavior.

Local authorities have powers under the Housing Acts 1966 to 2014 to manage their housing stock, including, in the case of anti-social behaviour, powers to recover possession of their units and to seek court orders excluding persons from social housing units or estates for periods of up to 3 years.

Local authorities can also refuse to allocate, or to refuse to sell, dwellings to persons engaged in anti-social behaviour.

If you are a local authority tenant, you can contact your local authority as they have been given certain powers under Part 2 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions Act) 2014 to take action against those who engage in anti-social behaviour in breach of their tenancy.

If you are a private rental tenant, you should contact the landlord where tenants are engaging in anti-social behaviour and ask him or her to take action to ensure the anti-social behaviour stops. If the landlord does not deal with the matter you can contact the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) for assistance.