An Enfield man was left feeling unsafe in his own home after his local council repeatedly failed to act on his reports of anti-social behaviour (ASB) from a neighbour, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman reports.

The man contacted London Borough of Enfield the day after moving into his flat in 2024. He reported persistent screaming, shouting, threats and bad smells coming from a neighbouring property — often through the night.

Despite submitting video evidence and making multiple reports over many months, the council took no substantive action.

When the man asked for his case to be formally reviewed - something he was legally entitled to after making three reports - the council still did not act.

The man asked the Ombudsman to investigate. It found the council’s lack of action caused the man significant distress and frustration.

The Ombudsman’s investigation also said the council failed to check whether the man was vulnerable or at risk. Good practice says councils should do this whenever someone reports feeling unsafe due to a neighbour's behaviour.

Chief Executive at the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, Julie Odams, said:

“Everyone deserves to feel safe in their own home. When someone repeatedly reports feeling threatened by a neighbour's behaviour, they should be confident their council will take their concerns seriously and use its powers to help.

“Councils have a range of powers available to them and should consider which is most appropriate when residents report problems. When someone says they feel unsafe, assessing their vulnerability should be a starting point — not an afterthought.

“This is not the first time we have found this council failing to use its powers to tackle anti-social behaviour. We are concerned this points to a wider problem with how it runs this service and the effectiveness of local oversight. I welcome that the council has accepted our recommendations and will now take steps to learn from what has happened and put things right for this resident.”

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman remedies injustice and shares learning from investigations to help improve public, and adult social care, services. In this case the council has agreed to apologise to the resident and pay him £500. It will also properly investigate his reports and assess whether he is at risk and carry out a case review.

The Ombudsman has the power to make recommendations to improve processes for the wider public. In this case the council has agreed to create a plan to improve how it handles anti-social behaviour reports and improve its handling of complaints.

Article date: 08 January 2026