Anti-social Behaviour Policy

Our Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Policy outlines our commitment to fostering safe and harmonious communities by addressing and preventing ASB. We prioritise the needs of victims and witnesses, ensuring their risk and vulnerability are assessed promptly to provide appropriate support throughout the case’s duration. Our strategy includes early intervention and preventative measures to challenge ASB directly, alongside rehabilitation and support pathways for those causing the behaviour.

When necessary, we employ formal tools to cease harmful activities, ensuring that the well-being of victims and the broader community remains our primary focus.

For more information, please read our Anti-Social Behaviour Policy in full below, or contact us directly.

Anti-Social Behaviour Policy

Document Author	Kelly Cunningham, Community Safety Team Leader
Document Owner	Kelly Webb, Director of Operations
Legal Advice	Anthony Collins Solicitors
Consultation	Consultation with customers, Consultation with Resolve, subject matter experts
Approved by	Anthony Collins Solicitors – January 2025
Review Date	January 2028
Corporate Plan Aim	Place
Equality Analysis	A full Equality Impact Assessment has been undertaken, there are no risks identified and no requirement for amendments. All protected characteristic impacts are considered within the Policy.
Key changes made	Second draft – feedback from the ASB internal audit has been incorporated.

1 POLICY PURPOSE

1.1 One Manchester recognise that anti-social behaviour  ( ASB ) can have a devastating impact  on people’s lives and is fully committed to dealing with incidents of ASB and the causes of ASB, by working collaboratively with our communities and partners. One Manchester aims to ensure that all residents enjoy the peace and quiet of their home, free from serious disturbance and intimidation.

A victim centred approach will be taken, putting the victim at the centre of the work, focussing on the harm they are experiencing and the impact that the ASB is having on people’s lives, the wider community as well as the environment.

2 POLICY SCOPE

2.1 This Policy applies to:

• Those who are victims and witnesses of ASB and live in our properties or visit our properties

• Those who are the perpetrators of ASB and live in our properties or visit our properties

• Those who are the perpetrators of ASB and are not our tenants but are causing ASB and their conduct is having a direct impact on our housing management functions

2.2.  This includes people who live in our;

• General needs accommodation

• Supported schemes

• Leasehold

• as well as people who live in other tenures (where their ASB conduct is having a direct impact        

    on our housing management function).

• We also recognise that our own colleagues and contractors may be affected by ASB incidents and we are committed to supporting them  if they witness or are subjected to ASB whilst carrying out their duties.

3 RELEVANT LEGISLATION & REGULATION

3.1 One Manchester will adhere to all relevant legislation and requirements as they apply, including but not limited to:-

• Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014

• Equality Act 2010

• Housing Acts 1985, 1988 ,1996 and 2004

• Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003

• Crime and Disorder Act 1998

• GDPR 2018

• Data Protection Act 2000

• Protection from Harassment Act 1997

• Policing and Crime Act 2009

• Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011

• Criminal Justice Act 2003

• Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006

• Mental Capacity Act 2005

• The Human Rights Act 1998

• Domestic Abuse Act 2021

• Consumer Standards 2024

3.2 One Manchester will also refer to any statutory guidance and/or guidance issued by the Regulator.

3.3 One Manchester will endeavour to comply with any new legislation in relation to anti-social behaviour that is introduced whilst this Policy is in effect.

3.4 The new tenant satisfaction measures standard sets further expectations for landlords to measure the levels of satisfaction regarding ASB complaint handling.

4 DEFINITIONS

4.1 One Manchester want to ensure that everyone within our neighbourhoods feels safe and secure. Part of this involves preventing and minimising ASB. There is no commonly agreed understanding of ASB, therefore One Manchester adopts the definition as set out in the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014.:

• conduct that has caused, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to any person,

• conduct capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to a person in relation to that person’s occupation of residential premises, or

• conduct capable of causing housing-related* nuisance or annoyance to any person.

4.2 One Manchester will also rely upon the nuisance and annoyance clauses within our tenancy agreements.

5 GENERAL

One Manchester strive to:-

5.1 Take all complaints of nuisance and anti-social behaviour seriously and respond promptly in and effective and sensitive manner aiming to resolve issues.

5.2 Ensure staff are appropriately trained and able to exercise their professional judgement when assessing reports that they receive.

5.3 Have in place robust agreements with tenants/leaseholders which clearly outline our stance on anti-social behaviour.

5.4 Acknowledge that each case of anti-social behaviour is different and operate a “victim” centred approach when dealing with reports of ASB. Where a victim or witness is assessed as vulnerable we will endeavour to offer support as well as signposting to other agencies.

5.5 Consider how to support vulnerable perpetrators of ASB, to help them sustain their tenancy.

5.6 Deal with complaints of anti-social behaviour, and information received in the strictest confidence and in accordance with its legal and regulatory obligations.

5.7 Keep victims and witnesses informed of developments as appropriate, being mindful of data protection obligations and any ongoing proceedings.

5.8 Consider, where appropriate, the use of a range of available legal remedies.

5.9 One Manchester will take necessary action against tenants, members of their household or their visitors if they do not comply with the conditions of the tenancy agreement (or any lease or transfer deed for owner occupiers who exercised their right to buy/acquire)

5.10 If One Manchester serve a Notice of Seeking Possession or apply to the courts for a Warrant, a referral will be made via the Community Safety Team to the relevant Local Authority Homeless Team.

5.11 One Manchester will also use available powers to protect non-One Manchester customers from unacceptable behaviour that may occur in neighbourhoods where One Manchester has homes.  In some cases it may be appropriate for One Manchester to support other agencies in taking legal action.

5.12 Take a  multi-agency and holistic approach to with a common aim of trying to reduce ASB.

5.13 Deal with ASB linked to Domestic Abuse or Hate Crime in accordance with those policies.

5.14  One Manchester will not tolerate abuse towards our colleagues,  our contractors or anyone else providing services on our behalf. This includes threats of violence, verbal abuse and intimidation, harassment and actual violence.

5.15   Ensure that all our staff are trained to identify and prevent safeguarding issues and understand the different aspects of safeguarding that they have a duty to report.

6 HOW TO REPORT ASB

6.1 One Manchester recognises the diverse needs of people and is committed to trying to eliminate any barriers to reporting incidents of ASB.

6.2  Any person can report complaints of anti-social behaviour by:-

• Phone during office hours

• by e-mail at anytime

• online via the customer portal

• in person at any of our offices during office hours

• by a third party such as a councillor or support worker  

7 QUALITY ASSURANCE  MONITORING AND REVIEW  

7.1 We will monitor and learn from the feedback we receive about how we manage and respond to cases of ASB to ensure a high standard of our services,  in line with the Tenants Satisfaction Measures Standard introduced in April 2023 by the Regulator for Social Housing.

7.2 We will invite customers to scrutinise our service and give us feedback for improvements.

8 COMPLAINTS

8.1  If a customer is unhappy about a decision in relation to this policy, they should first follow the One Manchester Complaints process.  If they are still not satisfied, they may then take the complaint to the Housing Ombudsman.

8.2  If a customer is unhappy with the handling of their ASB case they have the right to request a ASB case review via Manchester City Council who will independently review the case on the condition it meets the threshold.

9 EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT

9.1 One Manchester is committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

9.2   An Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) has been completed and there are no risks identified and no requirement for amendments. All protected characteristic impacts are considered within the policy.

10 MONITORING AND REVIEW OF THE POLICY

10.1      Compliance with this policy shall be monitored by Head of  Neighbourhoods. We will review the impact of this policy on customers with protected characteristics.

10.2  The Policy will be reviewed in 3 years.

10.3 The Head of Neighbourhoods will be responsible for the effective delivery of this policy and initiating a review of this policy.

11 ASSOCIATED POLICIES AND DOCUMENTS

11.1     Internal Documents:

• ASB guidance notes for staff

• Domestic Abuse Policy

• Hate Behaviour Policy

• Safeguarding Policy

• Allocation /Lettings Policy

• Complaints Policy

11.2     External Documents:

• Regulator for Social housing Neighbourhood and community Standard

• Regulator for social housing Tenant Satisfaction Measures Standard  April 2023

• Housing Ombudsman Spotlight Report regarding Noise October 2022

• Consumer standards 2024