North Yorkshire Council

Housing & Leisure Overview & Scrutiny Committee

2 September 2024

Draft Anti-Social Behaviour Policy (Landlord Services)

Report of the Corporate Director Community Development

1.0 PURPOSE OF REPORT

1.1 To present the Council’s draft landlord policy for Anti-Social Behaviour and accompanying Good Neighbourhood Management policy.

2.0 SUMMARY

2.1 Registered Providers (which includes North Yorkshire Council) are required by law to meet the expectations set out in the Regulator of Social Housing’s consumer standards (Neighbourhood and Community Standard). The policy has been updated to ensure that we can fulfil the expectations set out within this particular standard.

2.2 There is an accompanying Good Neighbourhood Management policy which sets out what the Councils’ response will be to concerns raised by tenants, but which do not meet the threshold of ASB. This is deemed to be best practice in this area of housing management.

2.3 These policies harmonise the three existing policies which remain in operation in the former Harrogate, Richmondshire and Selby council areas.

3.0 BACKGROUND

3.1 The Housing Service includes Landlord Services responsible for the management of the current housing stock which is primarily located across the Harrogate, Richmond, and Selby, localities. It is necessary to adopt an Anti-Social Behaviour policy for the landlord service to set out how we will respond to tenants’ concerns who are affected by this issue as well as how we will deal with any tenants who may be responsible for carrying out such acts within our communities.

3.2 Anti-Social Behaviour Policy

This proposed policy is a revised policy developed in partnership with a specialist external practitioner to ensure that it is up to date, reflects current best practice and ensures that we remain compliant with the Regulator of Social Housing’s consumer standards.

3.3 The policy is underpinned by a number of key principles including:

· Working transparently and fairly with those who report issues.

· Adopting a harm centred approach.

· Taking necessary and proportionate action to resolve concerns.

· Seek to identify and understand risk and vulnerability.

3.4 The policy sets out a clear and widely accepted definition of Anti-Social Behaviour (Part 1 of the ASB, Crime and Policing Act 2014).

3.5 The policy also recognises that people have different tolerances, expectations, and perceptions in relation to whether behaviour is appropriate or not. Therefore, we would not look to class something as anti-social when it would be inappropriate to do so and which is why, as with other housing providers, we have developed an accompanying Good Neighbourhood Management policy.

3.6 Each of the legacy housing management teams took a fairly similarly approach to tackling both anti-social behaviour and neighbour disputes and in the case of Harrogate and Selby, these teams were bolstered by additional ASB Officers who have a higher degree of technical knowledge and practical expertise to support their Housing Officer colleagues.

3.7 At the time of writing the report, the housing management team responsible for dealing with incidents of anti-social behaviour were working on 47 open cases as shown in the table below and which is broken down further across the 3 locality areas.

Selby	10 cases (predominantly drug related and / or violent behaviour)
Richmond	15 cases (mostly noise related but 2 relate to drug activity)
Harrogate	22 cases (again mostly noise related but 6 relate to drug activity and harassment)

3.9 Rightly, our approach is to proactively manage these cases in partnership with other agencies such as the Police and our colleagues in Community Safety and Health & Adult Services and to minimise any harm to neighbours and the wider community. Our ultimate goal of sustaining any tenancies which are otherwise at risk of failing remains but where this is not possible, then we will escalate our actions accordingly and look to secure an outright possession order (eviction) where appropriate.

3.10 The table below highlights previous levels of eviction for anti-social behaviour related activity across the 3 localities.

Year	Evictions	Reasons
2021-22	2	1 in Harrogate and 1 in Selby, both drug related
2022-23	2	1 in Harrogate and 1 in Selby, both drug related
2023-24	2	2 in Richmond due to serious neighbour / noise nuisance

3.11 Good Neighbourhood Management Policy

In line with current best practice, a supplementary Good Neighbourhood Management policy has also been developed. The purpose of having such a policy is because anti-social behaviour is a term that relates to a wide range of behaviour types and the law does not provide a set list of what it is or is not. The policy serves to outline our considerations, actions and limitations when it comes to dealing with issues that do not suit management under the Anti-Social Behaviour policy.

3.12 The principles which underpin this policy include:

· Triaging and assessing all reports to understand the most appropriate approach for managing them.

· Communicating clearly on the outcome of any assessment.

· Recognising that something initially identified as being a ‘good neighbourhood management’ issue can escalate.

· Focussing on fostering good relationships and not seeking to find fault or apportion blame.

· Recognising that sometimes personal circumstances may affect a person’s tolerance, perception, or ability to cope with certain situations.

3.13 The Good Neighbourhood Management Policy seeks to deal with a range of situations but more often those which can be termed ‘neighbour disputes’ and which may arise for a number of reasons including the behaviour of children or the use of communal gardens for example.

3.14 In such situations, by focussing on fostering good relations and dealing with reports on a case-by-case basis, it is highly unlikely that more formal tenancy action will be required to bring a resolution to the problem.

4.0 CONSULTATION UNDERTAKEN AND RESPONSES

4.1 It is in accordance with North Yorkshire Councils consultation principles that a public consultation be carried out before this policy is adopted. The draft documents have been published on the consultation area of the NYC website (Draft anti-social behaviour policy consultation | North Yorkshire Council.

4.2 In addition to the usual channels of promotion, a customer journey mapping is being undertaken with residents who have lived experience of reporting of, being the victim of or being accused of anti-social behaviour.

The results of our consultation activity will be analysed and taken into consideration in the review of the policy and outcomes will accompany the subsequent policy decision report.

5.0 CONTRIBUTION TO COUNCIL PRIORITIES

5.1 The policy contributes principally to the following Council priorities:

· Place and Environment: Communities are supported and work together to improve their local area.

· People: People are free from harm and feel safe and protected.

6.0 ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED

6.1 As a registered provider of social housing, it is a legal requirement to comply with the Regulator of Social Housing’s consumer standards (Neighbourhood and Community Standard). Specifically, this particular standard states that, ‘Registered providers must have a policy on how they work with relevant organisations to deter and tackle anti-social behaviour in the neighbourhoods where they provide social housing.’

6.2 North Yorkshire Council has already self-referred to the Regulator indicating that it is non-compliant with a number of requirements across the consumer standards. Failing to harmonise this policy could create a risk of additional non-compliance and further undermine the organisations’ credibility.

7.0 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

7.1 There are no financial implications attached to this report and members will not be expected to make financial decisions on its basis.

8.0 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

8.1 It is a requirement of the Regulator of Social Housing Transparency, Influence and Accountability standard for a Registered provider, ‘to take tenant’s views into account in their decision making about how landlord services are delivered and communicate how tenant’s views have been considered.’

8.2 It is also good practice and in line with North Yorkshire Councils own consultation principles to consult on a policy which concerns a significant number of its residents (tenants).

8.3 The policies ensure compliance with the regulatory standards and the requirements laid out by the Housing Ombudsman Service.

9.0 CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS

9.1 There are no climate change implications attached to this report. A climate change impact assessment screening form has however been completed ahead of obtaining Executive member approval to consult and which confirmed that there were no significant impacts.

10.0 EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS

10.1 No equalities implications are attached to this report. An Equalities Impact Assessment screening form has however been completed ahead of obtaining Executive member approval to consult and a full Equalities Impact Assessment will be completed following the conclusion of the consultation process as previous versions are now significantly out of date.

11.0 OTHER IMPLICATIONS

11.1 Policy Implications

The draft Anti-Social Behaviour policy will replace the three existing Anti-Social Behaviour policies. The policy will be supplemented by the accompanying Good Neighbourhood Management policy, and the landlord service would adopt both policies following approval.

11.2 ICT Implications

In terms of monitoring cases of Anti-Social Behaviour, operating across 3 different platforms presents a number of operational challenges. We are therefore currently looking at a range of options including the procurement of a bespoke case management solution which is in use across multiple local authorities and housing associations.

11.3 Community Safety Implications

There is a clear link to the work of colleagues in Community Safety and consequently they are one of the key stakeholders being consulted with as part of the consultation process.

11.4 Risk Management Implications

The Council (in its role as Social Housing Landlord) risks not being compliant with the Regulator of Social Housings’ consumer standards if it does not have an up-to-date policy.

12.0

RECOMMENDATION(S)

12.1

The Committee are asked to note the report and:

i) Provide feedback on the content of the draft Anti-Social Behaviour (Landlord Services) and Good Neighbourhood Management policies.

ii) Provide any questions as required for discussion with the Executive Member for Housing.

Nic Harne

Corporate Director – Community Development

County Hall

Northallerton

22 August 2024

Report Author – Carl Doolan Head of Housing Management & Landlord Services

Presenter of Report – Andrew Rowe, Assistant Director for Housing

BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS: none

APPENDICES:

Appendix A – Draft NYC Anti-Social Behaviour policy

Appendix B – Draft NYC Good Neighbourhood Management policy

Appendix C – Draft NYC Anti-Social Behaviour procedure

Note: Members are invited to contact the author in advance of the meeting with any detailed queries or questions.