By Richard Blakeway, the Housing Ombudsman

Recently, while sipping my breakfast coffee listening to Radio 4, I was surprised to hear our service mentioned on Thought for the Day.

Rev Lucy Winkett had picked up on the rise in complaints about antisocial behaviour (ASB). Within three minutes, she said so much that would feel so relevant to many housing professionals working in ASB. She talked about the “relevant responsibilities” of different parties, but also asked “deeper questions”, including how “many of the people making the noise, shouting abuse or attacking their neighbours are vulnerable, distressed or angry, sometimes addicted or unwell”.

This moved to an “ethical dialogue” about how people can become “stuck in patterns of behaviour that damage themselves and others”, raising questions about the role of community. Whether you have faith or none, this will feel relatable for many working in this challenging field.

I’ve met so many people who are proud to have grown up in social housing. It boasts strong, diverse communities and our country is enriched by it.  Last year’s Shelter campaign, Made in Social Housing, expressed this brilliantly.

But, like in all tenures, ASB can happen. Because social tenants are able to move less easily, the importance of good neighbourhood management is even greater. This ensures the benefits of building strong roots in communities through longer tenancies doesn’t tip into feeling trapped when there’s ASB.

It’d be wrong to airbrush the experiences of residents in our casework. In our ‘learning from severe maladministration’ report, the impact of persistent ASB can be devastating. Frequently, children are being affected. They are reported as scared to leave their home or go to school. Landlords are shown not acting on evidence. One resident experiencing nightly noise made 115 recordings but was met by limited and late responses by their landlord. Damage to property has been left unrepaired. A resident whose windows were smashed waited 14 months for repairs, meanwhile they were boarded up. Another landlord took 22 months to repair doors that could reduce noise. In a few cases, we’ve seen residents ending their tenancies after poor ASB handling – losing a home which was meant to be safe and secure.

“This includes considering how to handle hate incidents. This isn’t always about race. ASB directed towards disabled residents reoccurs in our investigations. These incidents require separate recording, policies and procedures, but this good practice may not be universal across the sector”

So, why do we see these things happening? One clear theme is how essential tools for effective ASB handling, including risk assessments or action plans, can either be missing or mishandled. But it also shows how approaches to handling ASB are changing too, and social landlords can be at the vanguard.

This includes considering how to handle hate incidents. This isn’t always about race. ASB directed towards disabled residents reoccurs in our investigations. These incidents require separate recording, policies and procedures, but this good practice may not be universal across the sector.

Another aspect is how landlords can improve coordination between repairs and ASB handling. This could be preventative as well as reactive. Of course, we know the sector’s challenges handling some repairs. This was explored in our recent Spotlight report, Repairing Trust. These cases reinforce the need to modernise repairs and maintenance. It also underscores the importance of effective internal communication between teams holding different responsibilities.

Evolving the role of complaint handlers where there are service complaints involving ASB matters too. Similar to our role, a complaint handler’s job isn’t to investigate the ASB itself but examine its handling. This can be a crucial second line of defence for the landlord. We know there have been significant improvements in complaint handling and it can make a real difference. But sometimes this falls short.

This can be because the complaints team are too passive. This can mean missed opportunities go unrecovered, such as conducting a risk assessment. Or opportunities for organisational learning are lost, because patterns are missed. The complaints process can also be the moment to bring together other issues raised by the resident, such as property condition, into a single, coherent response form the landlord. But each element can be poorly handled.

Clear, empathetic communication at this stage is crucial. It could restore the resident’s confidence the landlord is listening. It can show the process hasn’t lost sight of the person. Yet in some of these cases, the communication at different stages was poor. This went beyond balancing relationships with residents. Occasionally, taking a harm-based approach was lost. Sitting behind poor communication can be inaction. It’s for landlords to reflect on whether these are driven by cultural issues or inadequate knowledge and information management.

Overall, as Rev Winkett alluded to, these cases also show how complex community life and the role of a social landlord has become. Our learning report and events like ASB week provide an opportunity for landlords to reflect on the fundamentals of ASB:

• What’s their role, how to manage expectations and where to work with others
• The rise in vulnerabilities and mental health needs
• The challenging circumstances of some of the residents who appear responsible for the ASB
• The importance of better information sharing by local authorities with landlords when allocating properties
• The skills required within the landlord to handle these increasingly complex cases and effective networks with other agencies.
• The importance of addressing ASB caused by non-residents to reduce the impact on residents
• The need to respond to changing public policy, including new measures in the Crime and Policing Bill.

This highlights the uniqueness of the social landlord’s role. I’ve met with some inspirational practitioners working on ASB and we also find fewer service failings in ASB cases than other areas. Just pause to reflect on that. Given the challenges and individual nature of each case, this is a considerable achievement.