Good Neighbourhood Management Policy

Update November 2024 - The project team have considered all of the feedback we received and are working with staff to finalise the details. You can find a summary in the Documents tab. The policy will then go to the Customer Voice Panel to review and approve the policy

This project has now closed. Look out for updates on what has happened with your feedback

As a social landlord, Platform takes anti-social behaviour (ASB) very seriously and are committed to creating safe and harmonious communities.

ASB means different things to different people. Depending on our own upbringings, experiences and views on what is acceptable behaviour, some of us will consider something to be inappropriate, where other people may not be concerned by it. This means that Platform receives reports where the customer truly believes that they are being caused ASB, but the behaviour would not be considered unreasonable by most people.

The traditional approach to dealing with all reports of ASB is to focus on who is the person responsible and what action should be taken against them. However, sometimes applying this approach can make a situation worse.

For example:

Peter and Anna live next door to each other in terraced houses. There is no off-road parking and all residents on the street must park on the public road. There is no allocated parking.

Peter is unhappy that Anna has parked in front of their home on several occasions. They report this to their housing provider as ASB.

The neighbourhood officer gives Peter incident logs to record future incidents so that evidence of the ASB can be gathered. Peter completes these for 6 months, recording each and every time that Anna parks outside their home.

The neighbourhood officer writes to Anna using the ASB template letter, stating that they are causing a nuisance, which is in breach of their tenancy agreement and that they could be evicted if it continues.

The neighbourhood officer speaks to the Police, who say it is not a criminal matter. They speak to the Council who say there are no breaches of highway laws. The neighbourhood officer speaks to their legal advisor who explains that the housing association cannot take action as this type of behaviour is not unreasonable.

Why is this a problem?

  • It is unfair on Peter as they have been led to believe that it is ASB and that the landlord will take some action to stop it. They have also been using lots of time and energy in completing unnecessary incident logs. This may have made them notice things they wouldn’t even have seen before.
  • It is unfair on Anna as they have been labelled an ASB perpetrator when they have not done anything wrong. They may have noticed Peter keeping records about their parking. This may make the relationship worse between them.
  • It wastes the time of the neighbourhood officer, reducing the time that they have to deal with other cases

What we are trying to achieve

Lots of cases like this end up being referred to the Housing Ombudsman Service. This is because the residents involved get so frustrated. The Housing Ombudsman Service have found housing providers at fault in these matters – not because they haven’t dealt with the ASB properly, but because the matter should never have been classed as ASB in the first place and doing so caused inconvenience to the residents involved. They have recommended that social landlords create a Good Neighbourhood Management Policy. This policy should outline the types of behaviour/situations which would not be classed as ASB and more appropriate solutions, such as encouraging residents to talk to each other.

At Platform we are now developing a Good Neighbourhood Management Policy and want your thoughts about the content of the policy.

Please complete this survey to give us your opinion on what should be in the policy by Thursday 26th September, 2024.

All eligible Customer Sounding Board members who fully complete the survey and submit it by the deadline will receive a £5.00 Love2Shop reward voucher for this project. Please note, vouchers are sent out twice yearly in October and April.

Update November 2024 - The project team have considered all of the feedback we received and are working with staff to finalise the details. You can find a summary in the Documents tab. The policy will then go to the Customer Voice Panel to review and approve the policy

This project has now closed. Look out for updates on what has happened with your feedback

As a social landlord, Platform takes anti-social behaviour (ASB) very seriously and are committed to creating safe and harmonious communities.

ASB means different things to different people. Depending on our own upbringings, experiences and views on what is acceptable behaviour, some of us will consider something to be inappropriate, where other people may not be concerned by it. This means that Platform receives reports where the customer truly believes that they are being caused ASB, but the behaviour would not be considered unreasonable by most people.

The traditional approach to dealing with all reports of ASB is to focus on who is the person responsible and what action should be taken against them. However, sometimes applying this approach can make a situation worse.

For example:

Peter and Anna live next door to each other in terraced houses. There is no off-road parking and all residents on the street must park on the public road. There is no allocated parking.

Peter is unhappy that Anna has parked in front of their home on several occasions. They report this to their housing provider as ASB.

The neighbourhood officer gives Peter incident logs to record future incidents so that evidence of the ASB can be gathered. Peter completes these for 6 months, recording each and every time that Anna parks outside their home.

The neighbourhood officer writes to Anna using the ASB template letter, stating that they are causing a nuisance, which is in breach of their tenancy agreement and that they could be evicted if it continues.

The neighbourhood officer speaks to the Police, who say it is not a criminal matter. They speak to the Council who say there are no breaches of highway laws. The neighbourhood officer speaks to their legal advisor who explains that the housing association cannot take action as this type of behaviour is not unreasonable.

Why is this a problem?

  • It is unfair on Peter as they have been led to believe that it is ASB and that the landlord will take some action to stop it. They have also been using lots of time and energy in completing unnecessary incident logs. This may have made them notice things they wouldn’t even have seen before.
  • It is unfair on Anna as they have been labelled an ASB perpetrator when they have not done anything wrong. They may have noticed Peter keeping records about their parking. This may make the relationship worse between them.
  • It wastes the time of the neighbourhood officer, reducing the time that they have to deal with other cases

What we are trying to achieve

Lots of cases like this end up being referred to the Housing Ombudsman Service. This is because the residents involved get so frustrated. The Housing Ombudsman Service have found housing providers at fault in these matters – not because they haven’t dealt with the ASB properly, but because the matter should never have been classed as ASB in the first place and doing so caused inconvenience to the residents involved. They have recommended that social landlords create a Good Neighbourhood Management Policy. This policy should outline the types of behaviour/situations which would not be classed as ASB and more appropriate solutions, such as encouraging residents to talk to each other.

At Platform we are now developing a Good Neighbourhood Management Policy and want your thoughts about the content of the policy.

Please complete this survey to give us your opinion on what should be in the policy by Thursday 26th September, 2024.

All eligible Customer Sounding Board members who fully complete the survey and submit it by the deadline will receive a £5.00 Love2Shop reward voucher for this project. Please note, vouchers are sent out twice yearly in October and April.

Page last updated: 10 Apr 2025, 10:06 AM