Outcomes. Radian v Mr A (Avon) County Court at Bournemouth & Poole. Antisocial behaviour (ASB) outcomes by number August 2012 to September 2016

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1 Issue 10 October 2016 Outcomes Antisocial behaviour (ASB) outcomes by number August 2012 to September 2016 Outright possession orders 27 Suspended possession orders 15 Adjourned 3 ASB injunctions with power of arrest and exclusion 10 ASB injunctions with power or arrest 14 ASB injunctions 2 Undertakings 6 Act 2014 with power of arrest and exclusion 4 Act 2014 with power of arrest 5 Act Radian v Mr A (Avon) County Court at Bournemouth & Poole This case involved multiple instances of antisocial behaviour (ASB), ranging from noise nuisance inside and outside the property to swearing and threats of violence by day and during the night. We got a civil injunction order against Mr A, which had a power of arrest attached. Mr A breached the injunction and was arrested. His worsening behaviour led us to apply for a possession order. The court granted this and we took back the property within just two months. In this case Mr A caused serious ASB to his neighbours, which included: threats of violence by Mr A and members of his household towards a neighbour, overheard by other residents playing very loud music at all hours of the day and night, which often had a heavy base beat that affected neighbouring properties regular visitors to Mr A s property at various hours of the day and night, who caused noise nuisance including banging, slamming windows and shouting kicking and throwing objects loudly within the property, stomping and banging objects including the front door, climbing in and out of a bedroom window, and slamming the window hard at all hours of the day and night shouting expletives in the communal hallway at the bottom of the stairs screaming, shouting and howling including loud whooping noises in the property, often late at night and during the early hours. Initially, we issued and obtained a civil injunction order against Mr A, which had a power of arrest attached to it and prohibited Mr A from: 1) directing violence, threatening violence or intimidating or harassing other residents including named residents 2) contacting directly or indirectly named residents and other residents 3) causing noise nuisance of any form at any time including banging, shouting, playing loud music and throwing objects in the property 4) causing nuisance or annoyance to named residents and other Radian residents. The power of arrest covered violence and threats of violence, intimidation and harassment. Mr A breached the injunction by causing violence or threatening violence. The police arrested him. His behaviour worsened, so we applied for possession of his property. This was supported by evidence from our Community Safety Officer, one of the other residents and the police. The judge heard evidence from these witnesses and granted us an outright order of possession of the property. We obtained a bailiff s warrant. We have now taken back the property with help from bailiffs and the police. Often in these types of ASB cases we are required in the first instance to apply for a civil injunction. However, if the behaviour worsens and it is proportionate to do so, we may then apply for possession of the property. Mr A and a visitor shouting obscenities in the property and the communal areas, which were overheard by other residents

2 Updates from the Radian in-house solicitor Radian v Miss B (Rother) County Court at Portsmouth We reported on an earlier phase of this case in a previous Outcomes. We were granted a civil injunction at the time, but Miss B breached it so we began possession action. We have since repossessed the property, but Miss B s vulnerability meant we have worked closely with her to ensure her welfare. This case was first featured in Outcomes 8 (August 2015), after we were granted a civil injunction with power of arrest. Unfortunately, Miss B did not take this second chance she continued with a campaign of ASB against her neighbours, so we had to issue possession proceedings. Among the ASB that led to the possession action, Miss B: played excessively loud music from her property shouted obscenities at our residents assaulted another resident, resulting in a police caution threw a stick at a neighbour and threatened the resident with physical violence threw stones over the fence into the neighbouring garden and threatened to throw a brick through a resident s window. At the one-day defended trial, the court considered evidence from both parties including details of Miss B s vulnerability. The court gave us an outright order for possession of her property but postponed the date to allow Miss B to approach her local authority as homeless and get accommodation arranged for her because she was vulnerable. Our Community Safety Team worked very closely with Miss B and the local authority during this period and successfully arranged for it to re-house Miss B, and we took back possession of our property. This gave neighbouring residents much-needed respite. Radian v Ms H (Solent) We reported on this case of hoarding in previous issues of Outcomes. We had obtained a suspended possession order, which was breached. We then got a warrant for possession despite it being contested in court. We have now taken back the property. We referred to this case in Outcomes 8. At that time we got a civil injunction under the ASB, Crime and Policing Act 2014, and in Outcomes 9 we reported getting a suspended possession order because Ms H breached that order. Unfortunately, Ms H failed to comply with the suspended possession order. So we felt it was proportionate and reasonable for us to apply for a warrant of possession under this order. Ms H contested the warrant application and applied to suspend the warrant. The court considered this at a full hearing, but rejected the application and ordered the warrant to proceed. We have now taken back possession of our property with help from the court bailiffs and the police. Ms H failed to engage with the support we offered her. We got a civil injunction and when Ms H breached it, we applied for possession. The court granted us a suspended possession order. When Ms H breached it, we got a warrant of possession that was endorsed by the court and executed by the court bailiff.

3 Outcomes Radian v Mr C (Solent) Mr C, a leaseholder, had behaved aggressively towards our staff at his property and our office. The court gave us a civil injunction and power of arrest. We are glad to report that Mr C s behaviour has improved so the order has been replaced with an undertaking (a binding promise) from him. Mr C threatened and intimidated our staff, obstructing them in the communal areas of his block, using threatening language and generally causing a nuisance. We got a civil injunction and power of arrest against him. The injunction required Mr C not to: 6) block or try to block the pathway of Radian staff members, contractors or agents on or in the locality of the property 7) approach Radian staff members, contractors or agents on or in the locality of the property. To date, Mr C has complied with his undertaking. He is now engaging with our staff and complying with their reasonable requests. The undertaking remains in force until 23 June Although Mr C was a leaseholder, we as landlord still had statutory powers under the ASB, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to get a civil injunction. Had he breached it, we may have had to consider asking the court to make him give up his lease, as we did in another case reported in Outcomes 7. use or threaten violence towards staff or residents engage in conduct causing or likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress towards staff or residents use threatening, foul or abusive language including body language and gestures towards staff or residents. engage in conduct causing or capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to staff or residents attend our head office and approach any staff member in its locality because he had visited us and refused to leave, resulting in police attendance. We got the order on a without-notice basis, which meant Mr C was not served with the papers. The severity of his conduct meant the court made an order in his absence. Fortunately, between serving the order and the return hearing, Mr C s behaviour greatly improved and he engaged with our requests and us. Therefore the order was replaced with Mr C making an undertaking to the court. In this, he promised not to: 1) use or threaten violence towards residents, Radian staff or agents or contractors or any person engaged in lawful activity in or in the locality of the property 2) engage in conduct causing or likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress towards the people in 1 above 3) use or threaten foul or abusive language including body language and gestures towards the people in 1 above 4) engage in any conduct causing or capable of causing a nuisance or annoyance to the people in 1 above 5) attend Radian s offices at any time except with Radian s prior written permission

4 Radian v Mr E (Solent) Outcomes Radian v Miss D (Thames) In this case, there was violence, highly aggressive behaviour, noise and suspected drugs misuse. The severity of Miss D s behaviour meant we had to apply for a civil injunction and power of arrest on a without-notice basis. We succeeded, but Miss D did not attend the return hearing at court. The judge decided that the order and power of arrest should continue. This was a serious ASB case in which we had to apply on a without-notice basis for a civil injunction and power of arrest. Miss D s conduct in this case included: threatening another resident with violence Miss D and a member of her household screaming and shouting in the property standing outside another resident s front door screaming abuse, bashing and kicking the front door and making threats of violence trying to get through a neighbouring property s window shouting obscenities including expletives in the property and communal areas, while threatening another resident causing a nuisance to staff including an outburst of verbal abuse and expletives to a member of staff who was trying to help Miss D on the phone possible misuse of drugs, resulting in police attendance at the property. The court ordered a civil injunction with a power of arrest on a without-notice basis forbidding Miss D from: 1) using or threatening violence towards Radian residents and staff (a power of arrest was attached to this) 2) engaging in conduct causing or likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress towards Radian residents and staff 3) threatening or using foul and abusive language including body language and gestures towards our residents and staff We had to act quickly against Mr E after his threats of arson and violence. We got a civil injunction and power of arrest at a without-notice hearing, which has protected other residents. We also helped Mr E by getting him support to continue his tenancy. Urgent action was needed to get a civil injunction and power of arrest against Mr E without notice because of the severity of his behaviour, which included: shouting abuse to other residents and threatening to burn down the block where his property is situated and surrounding properties making threats to kill other residents threatening arson and violence, which were overheard by several residents who were gravely affected and concerned about the threats. At the without-notice hearing, the court ordered a civil injunction and power of arrest forbidding Mr E from: 1. using or threatening unlawful violence towards other residents and our staff 2. engaging in conduct causing or likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress towards other residents and our staff 3. using threatening, foul or abusive language including body language and gestures towards other residents and our staff 4. engaging in conduct causing or capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to residents and our staff 5. making threats to commit or committing arson against any property in the locality of his property 6. communicating directly or indirectly with named residents he had threatened with violence. Mr E did not appear at the return hearing. The court ordered that the injunction and power of arrest attached to all paragraphs of the order should remain in force until 16 August The proceedings have succeeded in getting an order to protect our residents, but have also led Mr E to engage with us. This has enabled us to give him support and direct him towards other support that will help him sustain his tenancy. We are pleased with the outcome. Mr E is complying with the terms and conditions of the order. At this stage, there is no need for further action. 4) possessing an illegal substance contrary to the Misuse of Drugs Act ) communicating directly or indirectly with named residents who were affected by her conduct. At the return hearing, Miss D did not appear at court. The judge considered all the evidence we gave and decided that the order and power of arrest should continue until 25 August 2017.

5 Radian v Mr F (Thames) Mr F had no right to live in this property. Because his ASB was so serious, we went to court on a without-notice basis and got a civil injunction with power of arrest. The court granted the order and we have now taken back possession of the property. Mr F had unlawfully occupied the property. His antisocial behaviour was serious and he threatened to burn down and commit other criminal damage at the property. Also he threatened violence towards arresting police officers at the property. Mr F had continued to live unlawfully in the property after making a failed claim to continue living there under the rules of succession. He was not entitled to succeed to the property under law, contract or our discretionary policy. We had also received written police evidence that he had been involved in criminality at the property and in its locality. As Mr F was occupying the property unlawfully, would not vacate it, and had threatened arson, we applied to the court on a without-notice basis for a civil injunction with power of arrest. We also included a provision to exclude Mr F from the property and asked the court to let us speed up the possession action. The court granted us a civil injunction with power of arrest, but would not exclude Mr F from the property. It listed the return hearing for our speeded-up possession claim for the following week, when it would also decide how to deal with Mr F s threats and other conduct. At the return hearing, the court considered the seriousness of Mr F s behaviour and the fact that he had no right to live in the property. The court granted an outright possession order immediately and allowed the civil injunction and power of arrest to continue for one year. After applying for a warrant of possession, we took back possession of our property with help from the court bailiff and the police. This has helped us recover a much-needed property for another family and has given the community respite from Mr F s criminality. Radian v Mr G (Thames) This case concerns unlawful occupation, this time coupled with criminality and drug use and their effect on the community. We applied for and were granted by the court an outright order for possession within 28 days. As in the case against Mr F, there was unlawful occupation, ASB and criminality. In this case, Mr G did not satisfy our discretionary criteria to succeed the tenancy. And the police confirmed that Mr G lived elsewhere, so he was not occupying our property as his only or principal home (which would be a breach of our tenancy rules). We gave our decision to Mr G but his legal representatives challenged it. After reviewing our decision, we maintained that Mr G did not satisfy our criteria and told Mr G and his representatives. We heard nothing further from them, but Mr G refused to leave the property and stayed in unlawful occupation. We also received significant evidence from the police about Mr G s ASB and criminality in and around the property, which included a suspicion of drugs being used. In addition, Mr G and a member of his household could often be heard shouting obscenities in the property and banging and fighting, which kept other residents awake and badly affected their peace and quiet and enjoyment of their properties. The police also believed that drug dealers had been visiting the property. The police expressed serious concern that Mr G should not be allowed to remain because of the level of criminality that they believed would affect the community. We therefore got an outright order for possession from the court within 28 days. The next stage in this case will be to apply for a warrant of possession of our property. The Radian in-house solicitor comments The cases against Mr F and Mr G both deal with unlawful occupation of our properties, serious ASB and criminality. We have seen an increase in unlawful occupation, usually where the remaining occupier does not have a right to succeed to a deceased person s tenancy or it is a periodic joint tenancy where one joint tenant has quit the joint tenancy and left. This is usually due to domestic violence or the person they were living with was a sole tenant who has gone into long-term care. The occupier does not satisfy a need to remain or have any rights to stay in the property. NEXT ISSUE Keep up to date with the next issue of Outcomes, due in the Winter As a reasonable and responsible landlord, we will work with unlawful occupants to support them if they are vulnerable and help them make a housing application to our partner agencies. But if an unlawful occupant continues to reside and refuses to engage in that process, we will have to apply for possession of the property if this is reasonable and proportionate. This allows us to free these properties for other families who are much in need on local authorities waiting lists.