Here’s some true stories of people living in Scotland who have experienced antisocial behaviour. They share with us their thoughts, how we helped and how their issues were resolved.
The dog that terrified me
“I once had a neighbour in a block of flats who had the most aggressive dog ever. It would bark all day and all night, and growl if you dared try to walk past it in the stairwell. I was terrified of it, and after seeking advice from Shelter Scotland, I spoke to my landlord. My landlord knew the owner and had a quiet word with him. From that moment on, the neighbour kept his dog on the lead, and would take him back inside the flat if someone else was in the stairwell. I felt much less anxious and can’t thank Shelter Scotland enough.”
Noisy neighbours
“Living in a city, my downstairs neighbours would blast loud music at all hours of the day. It was so loud that they wouldn’t even hear us banging on the door or ringing the doorbell. After looking up the Shelter Scotland website for advice, I contacted the council. I complained to the council many times but they were very slow to respond, however they did eventually catch the culprits. This didn’t seem to faze them and their anti-social behaviour continued for months afterwards. They were evicted from their property shortly thereafter.”
Illegal activity in my stairwell
“When I was at University, the front door of my flat block would never lock properly. I would often find people sitting on the stairs and injecting drugs on a nightly basis. It was very unsettling. I called Shelter Scotland to ask for advice and they suggested I spoke to my landlord about it, who unfortunately couldn’t do much to resolve the situation. Shelter Scotland had also recommended calling the police if I felt I was in danger. One night there was so much shouting, I called them. After that, they didn’t come back and I felt a million times safer in my home.”
I didn’t realise my behaviour was antisocial!
“My friends and I shared a flat and had a party to celebrate their big milestone party. This was the only party we’d ever had in the 3 years I lived there. I don’t think the neighbours were too impressed, even after a letter through their door warning them of the party in advance of it happening. Instead of approaching us and voicing their concerns, they passively-aggressive changed their wi-fi name to “SHUT UP FLAT 7”. We didn’t have another flat party after that, but they didn’t change their wi-fi name back again either. I spoke to Shelter Scotland about neighbour fall-outs, and they helped me to get back on good terms with them again.”
We love hearing your stories, so feel free to share them with us. If you are experiencing a nightmare neighbour or antisocial behaviour where you live, please contact us.
*All those interviewed are real people and have requested to remain anonymous.