Section: Antisocial Behaviour

Council Too Hasty in Taking Action

Mr S, a tenant of Trafford MBC, lives in a development that forms a group of dwellings occupied by elderly people. He complained to the Ombudsman about a letter he received from the Council, in which it was alleged he behaved inappropriately when a prospective future tenant visited the development where he lives. The letter warned Mr S as to his future conduct.

Mr S complained that the letter had been issued without any proper investigation, and had caused him and his wife to worry. The Ombudsman was critical of the Council's actions and decided the following:

The Council had written a strongly worded letter of warning without having first heard Mr S's account.
Had some prior investigation taken place, such a strongly worded letter may well have been unnecessary and not have been sent.

Although the Council disagreed with some aspects of the Ombudsman's decision, it agreed to apologise to Mr S, to pay him £150 compensation, and to remove the relevant letter from Mr S's housing file. The Ombudsman did not recommend any further action.

Ombudsman Report No. 03/C/09403

New Regulations

The Demoted Tenancies (Review of Decisions)(England) Regulations 2004 SI 1679

Section 14 of the Antisocial Behaviour Act 2003 amended Part 4 of the Housing Act 1985 (c.68) to allow a secure tenancy of a local housing authority, a housing action trust, or a registered social landlord to be brought to an end and replaced with a less secure demoted tenancy by a demotion order made by a county court. Schedule 1 to the 2003 Act inserted further provisions regarding demoted tenancies as a new Chapter 1A of Part 5 of the Housing Act 1996.

If a landlord wishes to end a demoted tenancy it must serve the tenant with a Notice stating that the landlord has decided to apply to the Court for an Order for Possession, setting out the reasons for that decision and informing the tenant of his right to request a review of the decision. These Regulations make provision about the procedure to be followed in such a review.

Regulation 2 provides that a person who was uninvolved in the original decision must undertake a review. If an officer made the original decision, an officer occupying a more senior position within the landlord's organisation than the officer who made the original decision must undertake the review.

Regulation 3 requires the landlord to give the tenant notice of the date of the review.

Regulation 4 enables the tenant to obtain an oral hearing in certain circumstances and explains how that right may be exercised.

Regulations 5 to 9 set out the details of the review procedure.

The Regulations came into force on 30 July 2004.
The Antisocial Behaviour Act 2003 (Commencement No. 4) Order 2004 SI 2168 (C.91)

This Order brings into force, on 30 September 2004, in England and Wales, various provisions of the Antisocial Behaviour Act 2003.
The Antisocial Behaviour (Northern Ireland) Order 2004 SI 1988 (N.I. 12)

This Order provides for the making of an Antisocial Behaviour Order against a person by a magistrate's court in Northern Ireland on application by a relevant authority or by the Court by or before which the person is convicted of a criminal offence. Breach of such an order is a criminal offence under Article 7.
The Antisocial Behaviour Act 2003 (Commencement No.2 and Savings) (Wales) Order 2004 SI (W.228) (C.107)

This Order brings into force, in relation to Wales, some of the provisions of Part 2 (Housing) of the Antisocial Behaviour Act 2003.

Section 13 replaces sections 152 and 153 of the Housing Act 1996 with new provisions allowing local authorities, registered social landlords, and housing action trusts to apply for Injunctions to prohibit antisocial behaviour, which relates to or affects their management of their stock.

Sections 14 and 15 allow social landlords to apply for Demotion Orders in cases of antisocial behaviour. The Demotion Order ends the tenant's existing secure or assured tenancy and replaces it with a new form of demoted tenancy with less security of tenure.

Section 16 amends the Court's discretion when considering claims for possession of a dwelling-house (let on an assured or secure tenancy) brought on the grounds of antisocial behaviour, to ensure that sufficient weight is given to the effects of any antisocial behaviour.

This Order also brings into force, in relation to Wales, section 91, which allows a local authority to request a power of arrest to be attached to any provision of an injunction obtained under section 222 of the Local Government Act 1972 where the injunction is to prohibit antisocial behaviour.
The Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 (Commencement and Savings) Order 2004 SI (Scottish) 420 (C. 31)

This Order appoints various days for the coming into force of the provisions of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004. Article 2 provides that all the provisions of the Act, so far as not then in force, should come into force on 15 November 2005. Most of Part 7 (Housing: Antisocial Behaviour Notices) and Part 8 (Housing: Registration of certain landlords) of the Act will come into force on that date.

Antisocial Behaviour Guidance Circular

Prevention should be the essential component of all housing association approaches to tackling antisocial behaviour (ASB), according to a new Housing Corporation Circular.

The document was issued in response to the new tools available to associations in countering antisocial behaviour, introduced as part of the Antisocial Behaviour Act 2003.

It acknowledges that many associations are already involved in preventative initiatives, but issues a directive that these should now be incorporated into more traditional policies and procedures. The document gives examples of preventative measures, including:

Reward schemes for tenants with well-conducted tenancies.
Diversionary projects for young people.
Acceptable behaviour contracts.
Tenancy/floating support schemes.

The Circular highlights the positive effects of support and rehabilitation, which can achieve long-term changes in the behaviour of ASB perpetrators and prevent displacing problems elsewhere.

All associations are expected to produce a statement of their ASB policies and of ASB procedures, as well as a summary of both documents.

Section: Antisocial Behaviour

Council Too Hasty in Taking Action

New Regulations

Antisocial Behaviour Guidance Circular

Housing Monthly Diary

Issue: October 2004 Reporting on July-Sept. 2004

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