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Things you should, can and Must Do!

First of all, let me state that I am not a lawyer, and any advice given here is purely offered based on the information I have been able to trawl through myself. Most of it is good commonsense, but bear in mind that the law and the legality of various things may not be what you or any other reasonable person might consider as a commonsense solution.

Secondly, the solutions I have found are based on papers from the Scottish Office and MSP's advice and may NOT apply to England, Wales or Ireland, although the legislation put in place by the Government is supposedly UK wide, and you may find regional variations to accomodate the different legal systems.

Post your story for others to read, they may be able to help with advice or just moral support, again details in "Your Stories". For help on a personal level, go to "Coping Personally". For a bit of fun and light relief, click on "Don't Get Mad, Get Even".

  • Neighbours from Hell?
    The first thing YOU have to do is decide that you are in a Neighbours from Hell scenario. It can be excessive noise, parking problems, verbal and physical abuse, or even racially motivated. It can be graffitti, damage to cars and property or worse. If it  requires regular Police attendance, then it most likely IS NFH!
  • Tell Somebody
    Next, you've got to get things moving by telling somebody. If you are a Council Tenant or if you own your house and it is next door to a Council Tenant, whether or not you were the original purchaser from the Council under the "Right to Buy" scheme, then you would seem to be in a better position than most. In these cases, it's the Council who are in the position to take action, and you should tell them about your problem. This is my situation, and so almost ALL of this advice is based on this. (If you are in another situation, let us know what you have found out, and it can be added here to help others) If both Houses are owner-occupied, then almost all the legal remedies will be available to you, but you need to use your own solicitor to set them up, except for the actions avaialable to all householders, irrespective of whether they are owners or tenants.
  • Who do you tell?
    Find out from whatever source you can. Try  the Citizens Advice Bureau first of all. You can usually get to them via your local phone book, or library and their advice is free. Some areas have Neighbourhood Law Centres that will give a half hour or one hour free legal consultation. These might be worth following up on. In most cases the initial point of contact will be some department of your local council. This may be Housing, Environmental Health or Social Work, Keep a Diarydepending on the nature of your complaint. Here's where you may hit your first "jobsworth". Be polite but firm, and don't take no for an answer. It's good practice this, 'cos you may well find a lot more along the way like this first one! Download and print the Scottish Office (or your local equivalent) Circular and study it a bit. It's good sleepoh material, but there are lots of little pieces of ammunition in there that you can use to let officialdom know YOU know something of the subject, and that you are unlikely to "go away" if they ignore you.

Text originally prepared and ©Mel Evans August 2000

Click on the links below, these are continuation pages for "Must Do!"

Must Do Initial Contacts