Anti-social behaviour & disorder
Housing Associations and ASB: Protecting our communities
This booklet describes how housing associations have a vital role in tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) and creating sustainable communities. It states how they need to look beyond the management and maintenance of homes and think about what improvements they can make across the whole community.
Title: Housing Associations and ASB: Protecting our communities
Author: Housing Corporation
Date published: November 2004
Number of pages: 2
Availability: Download full booklet 
(208 Kb)
Why is tackling anti-social behaviour important?
When unchecked, anti-social behaviour can ruin the lives of individual households and whole communities, which cannot be sustainable if people feel threatened in their homes or are too frightened to walk the streets. Tackling anti-social behaviour is also important because communities ought to have pride in where they live.
There are a number of approaches that housing associations can take to achieve this:
prevention
early interventions
support packages
enforcement measures.
Associations should be carrying out a combination of approaches according to what works best in the local area.
How can we prevent ASB?
Good quality design of housing developments is essential.
Installing additional safety features to houses, such as CCTV.
Employing neighbourhood wardens, who patrol communities and act as a deterrent to ASB.
Young people can be diverted away from getting involved in nuisance behaviour and crime if they are given alternative activities (e.g. summer sports schemes).
How to stop ASB when it happens?
Housing associations have a wide range of tools available to them:
Acceptable Behaviour Contracts - the perpetrator will sign an agreement to stop causing nuisance. These are not legally binding documents, but are highly effective.
Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) - a court sets out how the perpetrator 's behaviour is affecting the community and what that person must do to prevent further harm to the community.
Patrol Officers - work evenings and can respond to resident's reports of ASB. They do not have enforcement powers but can gather vital evidence and reassure victims.
Supporting the perpetrators to change their behaviour - housing associations can refer their tenants to projects that provide support with health issues and help perpetrators develop self-confidence and social skills.
The importance of working together
Effective strategies need to be supported by partnerships including local authorities, police, education, social services and many others. It is important for these agencies to share information and resources.
Local Authority Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) are a crucial tool in the fight against anti-social behaviour. Some associations have found difficulties in accessing these partnerships. This could be because they own only a handful of properties in that local authority area, or because there is a large number of associations working in the area. Some CDRPs have set up consortiums to better manage this relationship with housing associations.
How the Housing Corporation helps
The housing corporation provides Innovation and Good Practice (IGP) resources to improve housing association performance, including addressing the problems of ASB. The programme enables the Housing Corporation and housing associations to be proactive and respond effectively to the major challenges facing the sector.
Download: Protecting communities PDF (208 Kb)
Last update: Friday, August 29, 2008