People caught crying at home could face an astonishingly large fine under rules designed to protect people's quality of life,
And it's not just crying - arguing, moving furniture, wall banging, arguing and more can all see you slapped with a "Community Protection Notice".
The Mirror reports it's not just a theoretical threat, with a freedom of information request submitted by The Sun finding that in Newcastle-Under-Lyme a notice was issued to one person to not "create any wailing, jabbering, crying and hammering on the wall type noises" following a complaint by a neighbour.
The penalty for breaching it is a £100 on the spot fine, rising to a maximum of £2,500 if you dispute it in court and lose.
Community Protection Notices explained
The rules fall under the 2014 Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act, introduced when Theresa May was home secretary .
They can be issued by local authorities, the police - including police community support officers - and private registered providers of social housing, charitable housing trusts or housing action trusts that have been designated by a local authority in its area
To get hit with one your behaviour needs to be:
- Having a detrimental effect on the quality of life of others nearby
- Be persistent or continuing in nature, and
- Be unreasonable
- That's where the restriction ends.
As well as being told to stop doing something, you can also be told to start doing things.
For example, a number of councils have used the orders to crack down on dog walkers that don't carry enough poo bags with them, others have decided to take a stern line with people playing music loudly in their cars while we've also heard of people fined for leaving the bins out too long.
The good news is they need to send a written warning to stop or start doing specified things - or take reasonable steps to achieve specified results - before the authorities can issue you a penalty.
For example, the order issued against crying in Newcastle-Under-Lyme has so far not resulted in a fine.
But that written warning doesn't have a fixed time scale on it - for example you might only have minutes to turn off your music, or weeks to clean your front garden.
Can you contest them?
You can appeal Community Protection Notices to a magistrates’ court - but have to comply with it in the interim if you're told to stop doing something.
Grounds for appeal include that the thing being complained:
- Didn't happen
- Doesn't actually affect local people's quality of life
- Isn't a persistent or continuing nature
- Is not unreasonable
- Or is not something you can reasonably be expected to control or affect
You can also complain if the requirements in the notice - or any of the periods it covers - are unreasonable or if there is a material defect or error in, or connected to, the notice.
You also can appeal if you think it was issued to the wrong person.
Appeals must be made within 21 days of being issued with the notice.
Courts have the power to either cancel the notice or change it - as well as dismiss your appeal.
