ASB can be a problem anywhere, not just on council estates.
For example, as mentioned in another thread, there can be problems in areas with a high proportion of student housing.
It's really the luck of the draw. Ask the estate agent to ask the property owner what their experiences have been (and/or what their tenants experiences have been if they're a landlord who's been renting it out). They're legally obliged to disclose anything like antisocial behaviour and/or disputes with neighbours, so they should say if there are any problems.
I live on a small estate in Manchester, which passed from the council through stock transfer and is now owned by a housing association. Nearly half the flats have been bought under Right to Buy, so there's a real mix of social housing tenants, leaseholders, and private tenants.
For the most part, it's great a nice community, some people get involved in community events and activities, some people keep themselves to themselves.
Much depends on who your immediate neighbours are, though. Some people were unlucky and lived next to a woman who used to drink a lot and pass out in a stupor while playing really loud music. Some people have lived next to tenants whose antisocial behaviour related to drink and/or drugs and/mental health issues, loud music, shouting, people coming and going loudly at all hours of the day and night. We've had some ASB issues on the estate with cuckooing and dealing, and the noise nuisance has affected those living in the immediate vicinity.
Or then again, some people have lived in small blocks where there's been no problems whatsoever and they've lived there happily for decades.
If you're concerned about personal safety when out and about in the neighbourhood, I feel safe, generally speaking. I know some other people, residents or people passing through the estate, have been mugged for phones over the years. But that can happen anywhere. Tends to happen more around fresher's week, because we live on the fringe of the university area, and crime goes up then as the ne'erdowells rob from the students who've just spent their student loan on a new iPhone, but that doesn't just happen here, but also in the wider neighbourhood and particularly in the more studenty areas.
People's experiences are individual aren't can't really be extrapolated. Just because someone else had a good or bad experience, doesn't mean you will, iyswim.
I've had a bit of a nightmare with my downstairs neighbour, ASB and harassment, but other neighbours are fine.
You could try to find out if there's a tenants association for the estate, say you're thinking of buying and ask them what they think, not just about that flat, whether the neighbours are okay, but also about their experiences with the council/housing association landlord dealing with any problems, repairs, etc. I mean, as a leaseholder, you'd be responsible for inside your flat, but they'd still be responsible for the communal areas and exterior, dealing with any ASB, etc. Is the tenants association active? Do they apply for grants and raise funds for things like gardening projects, wellbeing stuff, events and activities? It helps if there are enough people who actively care about their local community.
