Nine customers joined us at a focus group to better understand antisocial behaviour, our approach to dealing with it, how we work with relevant partners and provide valuable feedback on how we communicate this with our customers.
Following a presentation from our neighbourhoods team, we discussed what is, and what isn’t classed as antisocial behaviour. The definition of antisocial behaviour as set out in the Antisocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 talks about conduct that has caused, or likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress, nuisance or annoyance to anyone.
We have provided examples of ‘what is’ and ‘what is not’ classified as antisocial behaviour on our website, Antisocial behaviour – Selwood Housing – Affordable Homes
What happened next
We asked | Customer response |
Are we communicating clearly with our customers? Is our messaging clear? | Highlight main dos and don’ts when new customers move into a property.
Provide a summary of the tenancy agreement – easy to read version.
Clear signposting on the website from home page to reporting antisocial behaviour.
Include a clear reminder to call the police if anyone is at risk. |
Our feedback
Agreed – to develop the FAQ’s on the website to help customers navigate scenarios that may arise. Confirmed – Our lettings team provide a lot of information covering a wide range of subjects to impart to a customer before they move into a property, which includes terms relating to not causing antisocial behaviour. All customers must confirm that they have read and understood the conditions of their tenancy before they sign it, which includes terms relating to not causing antisocial behaviour. Our view is that if we treat one section of the tenancy agreement in a different way to other sections, it tends to give a message to customers that it is more important than the others. So, it might be inferred that antisocial behaviour is seen by us as more important than the customer’s other responsibilities, such as paying rent, looking after the property, etc. The Tenancy Agreement is also a legal document that a tenant must read in full and understand before signing. For these reasons we cannot produce summaries of, or simpler versions of, the document. The customer has an opportunity to raise any queries about the conditions of tenancy with the lettings team at sign up, including those relating to antisocial behaviour. Agreed – to remodel the new website page so it’s more intuitive with the information and general layout from a customers’ perspective. Agreed – When we update the antisocial behaviour page on the website, we will ensure it is more explanatory about our approach to what we do and do not consider to be antisocial behaviour. Confirmed – Advice about notifying the police about a serious incident of antisocial behaviour is detailed on our website. We will ensure this information is highlighted and placed on the page clearly. |
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We asked | Customer response |
How do you think we should manage neighbourhood issues that are not antisocial behaviour? | Issue a clear list of what is & isn’t antisocial behaviour when someone first reports and provide examples.
Include this on the website as well.
Better explanations along with list. Signpost to website (or future portal) in initial conversation. |
Our feedback
Confirmed – We currently have a list of what we do and do not consider to be antisocial behaviour on our website. Agreed – Following the customer feedback, we will be expanding on this with the list set out in our amended antisocial behaviour policy. Agreed – We will provide a brief explanation of the principles surrounding this on our website. |
Customer questions | Our feedback |
Is it more of an issue if a perpetrator of antisocial behaviour is a private owner/renter? | We have no contractual relationship with private households as we do with Selwood Housing customers (e.g. a tenancy agreement) so we are very limited in any action we can take against them.
We do have a small selection of tools and actions we can take, but in the main they are covered by the general law which is the responsibility of the local authority and/or the police.
In addition to community safety and criminal reporting to the Police, there are a few remedies which the Police and local authority can consider by way of the ASB Crime & Policing Act 2024. These include: · Absolute Grounds for Possession · Acceptable behaviour contracts · Civil injunctions · Closure power · Community agreements · Community protection notice · Criminal Behaviour Order · Demotion orders · Dispersal Power · Noise abatement notices · Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) · Penalty notices for disorder |
What do Selwood do if an antisocial behaviour case is closed but the complainant continues to raise it? | Confirmed – The process for closing a case is set out in detail in our antisocial behaviour procedure, along with the steps a customer can take if they wish to take the matter further.
This is also set out in part on our antisocial behaviour website page.
Customers have the right to escalate their complaint to the ‘case review’ option, which is an independent review via the local authority.
In addition to the ‘case review’ escalation option, customers also have recourse to highlight their dissatisfaction to the Housing Ombudsman Service, in terms of Selwood’s approach to handling their ASB complaint. Agreed – We will be updating our website page to include further advice which will also be set out in our amended antisocial behaviour closure letter. |
In what circumstances would we rehouse a victim of antisocial behaviour, especially if causing poor mental health? | Confirmed – The issue of rehousing is assessed on an individual basis and normally a matter of last resort as we always look to try and deal with the person behaving antisocially.
However, we do recognise that on rare occasions rehousing may be the only option due to the unresolvable circumstances involved. |
Antisocial behaviour can have a severe impact on both the victim and perpetrator’s mental health.
Some customers were concerned that an complaint of antisocial behaviour might not be progressed because the perpetrator is unwell. |
Antisocial behaviour caused because of a person’s mental illness can be complicated to deal with due to disability discrimination and legislation such as the Equality Act. This means that we have several hurdles to overcome to achieve a successful outcome, which includes engaging with agencies such as social services and the mental health team.
We will use legal action where necessary, but the evidential bar is higher than in other cases, and we must ensure that we are acting within the law as far as disability and equality rights are concerned. When considering legal action, we are mindful of our Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) responsibilities. For cases where there is an identified mental health issue, we would seek to work with partner agencies as part of a Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) approach. Whilst there is a presumption of capacity, any health factors will be clearly set out in equality impact assessment to determine the proportionality and reasonableness of potential legal proceedings. |