Purpose

New social housing regulations came into effect in April 2024 as part of the Social Housing Regulations Act 2024, which placed various requirements on social landlords.

Tower Hamlets Homes was insourced to the council in 2023 and this meant that the requirements outlined by the Social Housing Regulations Act 2024 were imposed on the council. When reviewing the impact of this legislation on the council, it became apparent that the Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Policy for council tenants and leaseholders was out of date: requiring a review refresh. The Council has a responsibility as a social landlord to have an up to date ASB Policy that sets out clear service standards around the management of ASB.

An ASB improvement programme began in January 2025 and the development of an ASB Policy was identified as a key workstream.

The Council does not currently have an ASB policy that clearly sets out what it considers to be ASB and how instances of ASB will be managed. As such we are developing an ASB Policy that reflects how the council (including housing, ASB teams and Environmental Health) will address ASB locally.

As part of the development process, it has been established that a number of policies and processes are either out of date or no-longer effective in terms of meeting the needs of local people.

At this stage, it is being asked that the newly proposed ‘triage process’ for ASB case allocation and escalation is reviewed and approved to ensure the resultant ASB Policy can reflect our local approach to addressing and managing ASB.

Going forward, it this item will require Cabinet to review and approve the newly developed ASB Policy.
 

Decision

1. Cabinet Approved the ASB Policy, (attached as appendix one of this report) as per the Council Constitution.

Reasons for the decision

The Council is a named responsible authority within the Tower Hamlets Community Safety Partnership (CSP) and is required to work with its partners to reduce crime and disorder (including ASB) in the borough. Tower Hamlet’s Community Safety Partnership plan 2025-2029 sets out the priorities of the partnership more broadly in terms of crime and specifically to tackle the full spectrum of ASB with the aim to reduce the impact of anti-social behaviour on our local communities. The Community Safety Partnership is a statutory partnership and includes the Council, police, probation, London Fire Service.

The Council is required under the Crime and Disorder Act (1998) to address crime and disorder locally, including anti-social behaviour.

As a social landlord, this policy ensures we meet our statutory obligation under section 218A of the Housing Act 1996, which requires a landlord to prepare and publish a policy and procedures in relation to anti-social behaviour, and the expectations of the Regulator of Social Housing Consumer Standard (The Neighbourhood and Community Standard). This policy is an overarching corporate ASB policy which incorporates the requirements of the council as a social landlord.

Alternative options

There is a statutory responsibility for social landlords to fulfil their statutory duty to publish a policy and procedures in relation to anti-social behaviour. Under the Council’s Constitution, it is the role of Cabinet to ratify that policy.

The Mayor in Cabinet could consider the option of not ratifying the policy and not publicising it, however this would result in the council not meeting its statutory obligation as a landlord, not delivering on the boroughs Community Safety Strategy overseen by the statutory Community Safety Partnership, which as highlighted in 1.1 of this report, the council is a responsible authority. Residents of the borough would also not be aware of the council’s approach to tackling ASB, how to report ASB to the council, or the support offered. Therefore, this option is not recommended.

Action by:

CORPORATE DIRECTOR FOR RESOURCES (A. KASSIM)