Crawley Borough Council recovers property following eviction of anti-social tenant

Crawley Borough Council has successfully recovered a property in Northgate following eviction of the tenant as a result of severe anti-social behaviour at their property.
By Matt Pole
Published 19th Oct 2022, 18:20 BST
Updated 19th Oct 2022, 18:20 BST
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The council’s legal team took possession proceedings against the tenant because their behaviour and that of their visitors was having a major impact on the lives of other residents in the location.

This anti-social behaviour included illegal drug use, stealing property off other residents, intimidation of residents, playing loud music, shouting and arguing in communal hallways, and unauthorised parking of vehicles.

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The council’s Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) team began investigating the tenant in April 2021, six months after moving in. Its response was to support victims and attempt to sustain the perpetrator’s tenancy including phone calls, verbal warnings and written warnings.

Crawley Borough Council has successfully recovered a property in Northgate following eviction of the tenant as a result of severe anti-social behaviour at their property. Picture courtesy of GoogleCrawley Borough Council has successfully recovered a property in Northgate following eviction of the tenant as a result of severe anti-social behaviour at their property. Picture courtesy of Google
Crawley Borough Council has successfully recovered a property in Northgate following eviction of the tenant as a result of severe anti-social behaviour at their property. Picture courtesy of Google

The council’s legal team worked with fellow officers from ASB, Housing and Community Wardens throughout the process from the start of proceedings to recovering the property.

Recovering a property through eviction as a result of ASB requires the commitment of residents to keep evidence logs and impact statements. The council is aware of the challenges this poses to victims and secured a possession order in July 2022, which was executed through repossession of this property on September 27, 2022.

At the eviction on September 27, 2022, the council discovered the tenant had already vacated and left the property in a poor condition with a considerable amount of rubbish, food waste, broken furniture, damage to the kitchen, and drugs paraphernalia including more than 60 cannisters of nitrous oxide.

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Whilst eviction is always treated as a last resort, with efforts to help perpetrators to sustain their tenancies, the council will take this action where tenancy breaches are ongoing and have a significant impact on communities.

Councillor Sue Mullins, Cabinet member for Public Protection and Community Engagement, said: “As a council, we are committed to dealing with nuisance tenants and will not tolerate anti-social behaviour like this.

“We will do what we can to make sure that our tenants and their neighbours can enjoy living in their homes without fear or intimidation.

“The action we have taken on this case will make a vast difference to residents in Northgate.”

For further advice about anti-social behaviour in your neighbourhood, visit https://crawley.gov.uk/community/protecting-crawley/anti-social-behaviour.