Vicki Bray: Making homes happy

Making homes happy

For most of us, home is where the heart is, but a house can be a hell-hole if you live on an estate blighted by badly behaved neighbours.   In a bid to protect its 5,000 tenants, the NFDC has adopted a specialist approach to beat anti-social behaviour.

The Council is tackling the causes of anti-social behaviour through rewarding good neighbours, while taking a hard-line approach to bad behaviour  – with worst offenders losing their homes. Neighbourhood and Tenancy Management Officers (NATMOs) are key to the strategy.

NATMO Vicky Bray said:  “Most of our tenants are pleasant, polite and law abiding. But a handful of badly behaved people can have a devastating effect.  Although we take a strong line, we always try to sort out problems through mediation to prevent disputes getting out of hand.”

A victim of anti-social behaviour added:  When I moved into my flat I was happy.  But everything changed when a tenant had a stream of visitors shouting, swearing and kicking in doors.   I was scared.  Vicky was a Godsend.  She listened and responded quickly.  When the tenant was moved out I got my life back.”

If you are an NFDC tenant and you need advice or you have any information regarding anti-social behaviour, you can call the Housing Helpline on 02380 285222