Anti-social behaviour (ASB) policy

Introduction

Our vision is to create great homes together, building communities where people feel safe, that they belong, and can build a future. This policy supports our vision by setting out how we prevent and respond to behaviour that harms people or undermines the sense of safety and connection we aim to create.

As a community based housing provider, we work closely with our customers, colleagues, communities, and partners to tackle issues early, reduce harm, and strengthen neighbourhoods. Through this policy, we help make sure every home is part of a place where people can live well and thrive.

Who this policy applies to and what it covers

This policy applies to:

• All customers living in a Magna home, including leaseholders, shared owners, and temporary accommodation residents, and any visitors to their homes.
• Anyone whose behaviour affects our customers, communities, colleagues, contractors, or the overall safety of our housing areas.
• All colleagues, contractors, agents, and volunteers working on our behalf must follow this policy when managing or responding to anti-social behaviour (ASB).

This policy covers:

How we prevent, respond to, and resolve reports of ASB, hate-related incidents, and hate crime across our homes and communities. It sets out:

• How we define and assess ASB
• Our harm-centred approach to assessing impact and risk
• How customers, colleagues, and partners can report concerns
• How we investigate cases
• What support is available for victims and perpetrators
• When and how we take enforcement action
• How we work with local partners to reduce long-term harm.

This policy aims to create safe, respectful, and thriving communities where everyone can live well without fear, nuisance, or harm.

Our Anti-Social Behaviour Policy

Our ASB delivery is built on the following principles:

Harm-centred approach

• We’ll prioritise the level of actual or potential harm to victims and communities
• We’ll respond faster and more intensively where the risk is higher.

Trauma-informed practice

• We recognise that victims and perpetrators may be coping with trauma, exploitation, mental ill-health, or crisis
• We’ll respond with care, curiosity, and flexibility.

Proactive prevention

We aim to reduce ASB before it starts. Prevention includes:

• Sensitive letting decisions
• Clear messages about expected behaviour
• Early intervention
• Community development activities
• Environmental improvements (eg lighting, design, layout)
• Mediation services.

Partnership working

Most ASB can’t be solved by one agency. We’ll work closely with:

• Police
• Local authority services (eg Environmental Health, Safeguarding)
• Housing providers
• Health, mental-health and substance-misuse services
• Voluntary and community groups
• Schools, youth services, and social care.

We actively share information lawfully and seek joint solutions.

Fairness, transparency, and evidence-led decision making

Our decisions will always be made using clear evidence, lawful processes, and a balanced understanding of risk and harm. We use all available information, including reports from customers, information from our partners, past case history, and professional judgement, to understand the full picture before taking action.

We assess the threat, risk, and harm to individuals and the wider community, making sure that every decision is proportionate to the behaviour, its impact, and any vulnerabilities involved.

Our team follows relevant legislation, internal procedures, and Magna’s wider strategic commitments so that decisions are consistent, defensible, and aligned with our values.

For each case, we consider a full range of options and contingencies, from early intervention to legal enforcement, selecting the approach that is most likely to reduce harm and achieve a safe and sustainable outcome. Decisions are reviewed regularly as new information emerges or circumstances change, allowing us to adapt our response quickly and appropriately.

We aim to be open with everyone involved about how and why decisions are made, what evidence we rely on, and what the next steps will be.

When cases close, we reflect on what worked well and what could be improved. Lessons learned are shared with our teams to strengthen future practice, contribute to continuous improvement, and support a culture of transparency, fairness, and accountability.

Supporting both victims and perpetrators

We recognise that people causing harm often have unmet needs.

We’ll seek solutions that reduce harm while helping people to keep their homes wherever possible.

Definitions

Anti-social behaviour

We use the legal definitions set out in the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, including:

• Conduct causing, or likely to cause, harassment, alarm, or distress to any person
• Conduct capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to any person in relation to their occupation of residential property
• Conduct causing housing-related nuisance or annoyance.

Harassment

Targeted behaviours that cause distress, torment, intimidation, or fear. Harassment may be verbal, physical, written, or online.

Hate incidents and hate crime

Incidents perceived by the victim or anyone else as motivated by hostility based on:

• Race
• Religion
• Disability
• Sexual orientation
• Gender or gender identity
• Age

A hate crime is a criminal act motivated by bias against a person or group based on characteristics as listed above. Hate crimes should be reported to the police, who act as the lead agency. Magna will offer support where this is necessary and appropriate.

Personal ASB

Behaviour where an individual or group is targeted directly. This includes intimidation, harassment, threats, abuse, or any conduct that causes a person to feel unsafe, distressed, or harassed.

Personal ASB is often deliberate or targeted and often carries the highest level of harm. This includes hate related incidents.

Nuisance ASB

Behaviour that causes ongoing disturbance, annoyance, or disruption to the wider community, even if it is not directed at a specific person. This may include loud and persistent noise, inconsiderate behaviour, inappropriate use of communal areas, or recurring disturbances that affect neighbours’ ability to live peacefully.

Environmental ASB

Behaviour that affects the shared use, safety, or appearance of a neighbourhood. This includes issues such as fly-tipping, graffiti, vandalism,
dog fouling, abandoned vehicles, waste accumulation, poor property upkeep, and other actions that reduce the safety or cleanliness of the area.

Some behaviours fall outside of our remit, and in these cases another lead agency, such as the police or local authority will be better positioned to respond.

What is not considered ASB

Some behaviour isn’t considered ASB unless it’s persistent and harmful, including:

• Children playing
• Everyday household noise
• Occasional DIY at reasonable hours
• Lifestyle differences
• Parking disagreements
• Environmental behaviours are covered under the Living Well Together (Good Neighbourhood Management) Policy.

Relationship with our Living Well Together (Good Neighbourhood Management) Policy

Our ASB policy works closely alongside our Living Well Together (Good Neighbourhood Management) (GNM) policy to ensure that all neighbourhood concerns are managed fairly, consistently, and proportionately.

The GNM policy covers behaviours that may cause irritation or tension between neighbours but don’t meet the legal definition of ASB or represent a breach of tenancy.

These issues such as, everyday household noise, parking disagreements, cultural differences and one-off low-level disturbances require a different, lighter-touch response. By clearly separating ASB from non-ASB neighbourhood matters, we can take a harm-centred approach and make sure each report is handled appropriately. This prevents over-escalation and manages expectations about what support or intervention is realistic. The ASB policy therefore feeds directly into the GNM policy by setting the threshold for when behaviour becomes harmful, unreasonable, persistent, or targeted enough to require ASB case management. Both policies work together to promote considerate living, early problem-solving, and stronger, more harmonious communities.

Reporting ASB

Customers and partners can report ASB by:

• Phone
• Email
• In person
• Report anti-social behaviour and nuisance Online web form
• Online chat
• Letter
• Through other agencies (Police, local authority, support workers).
   

We accept anonymous reports but may have limited ability to act without evidence.

We encourage direct reporting by the person affected where safe to do so.

Harm and risk assessment

Every report is triaged using a harm-centred framework. This includes:

Initial triage

We assess:

• Severity
• Frequency
• Motivation or intent
• Vulnerability of all parties
• Impact on wellbeing, safety, and daily life.
   

Victim vulnerability risk assessment (VVRA)

High-risk cases are escalated:

• Immediate response within the next working day
• Response within 5 working days for general ASB
• 10 days for environmental or neighbourhood-management issues

Multi-agency response

Cases meeting high-risk thresholds or scoring 29+ on the VVA trigger a multi-agency meeting within 5 working days.

Our response and investigation approach

We will:

• Take reports seriously
• Investigate promptly
• Develop a clear action plan with realistic timescales
• Agree communication preferences with the complainant
• Collect evidence including diary sheets, statements, CCTV (lawfully), partner reports
• Document and record accurately - understanding information may be disclosable.
• Consider mediation, practical solutions, and tenancy enforcement
• Protect confidentiality within legal limits.

We won’t take action where behaviour is reasonable, unavoidable, unintentional, or unsupported by evidence, unless harm is significant or risk is escalating.

Support for victims

We provide:

• Regular updates
• Agreed communication plans
• Signposting or referrals to support services
• Safeguarding referrals
• Target-hardening (such as change of locks, lighting etc)
• Court support for witnesses (pre-court visits, separate waiting rooms, guidance).
   

Support for perpetrators

We identify needs or vulnerabilities early and may offer:

• Tenancy support services
• Referrals for mental-health or substance-misuse support
• Financial or welfare advice
• Mediation
• Safeguarding referrals
• Support does not prevent enforcement where necessary.

Tools and powers

We use a wide range of proportionate responses, including:

Early and informal actions

• Warnings
• Home visits
• Mediation
• Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABCs)

Legal tools

Depending on severity, we may seek:

• Injunctions
• Community Protection Notices (in partnership with the local authority)
• Closure Orders (in partnership with the police)
• Demotion of tenancy
• Possession proceedings

We determine the most proportionate and effective tool based on risk and harm.

Domestic abuse, exploitation and safeguarding

We recognise that some ASB is linked to:

• Domestic abuse
• Cuckooing
• Financial abuse
• Criminal exploitation
• Mental-health crisis

We’ll work with statutory partners to ensure support, safeguarding, and enforcement actions are joined-up and proportionate.

This should be read alongside our Domestic Abuse Guidance and our Customer Wellbeing and Support Policy.

Partnership working

We attend and contribute to:

• Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC)
• Multi-agency public protection arrangements
• Multi-agency risk management meetings
• Community safety partnership groups, partnership co-ordination groups, multi-agency problem solving meetings, one team meetings
• Environmental enforcement meetings
• Joint visits and community days of action

Information sharing follows legal frameworks including Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and GDPR.

CCTV use

We may use fixed or mobile CCTV:

• Only where justified and proportionate
• With clear signage for overt systems
• In line with CCTV Code of Practice
• Deployment review every 6 months (in line with guidance from the Information Commissioners Office)
• Information will be stored for a maximum of 30 days unless needed for evidence

Mobile CCTV may also be requested through applications to the local authority.

Covert CCTV is used only under strict legal conditions and any decisions around covert CCTV is made in conjunction with the local authority and the police.

Closing an ASB case

Cases are closed when:

• Behaviour improves
• No further reasonable action is possible
• The complainant requests closure.

We explain the reasons in writing, carry out a closing risk assessment, and invite feedback through customer surveys.

Training and professional standards

All Community Safety Officers receive training on:

• ASB legislation (maintained through legislative changes)
• Harm-centred assessments
• Safeguarding
• Trauma-informed practice
• Evidence gathering
• Equality and inclusion

We monitor performance through case audits, feedback, complaints, and peer reviews.

Responsibilities

Operational delivery of this policy is led by the Safer Communities Lead, ensuring that our approach remains effective, responsive, and centred on reducing harm.

Oversight of compliance and ongoing review sits with the Head of Customer and Community Support, who ensures that our practice continues to meet legal, ethical, and organisational standards. The policy is reviewed at least every three years to make sure it remains current and relevant.

By reporting performance to the Executive Board, we maintain strong governance, transparency, and accountability. This ensures that our commitment to building safe, confident communities is not only upheld but continually strengthened as we learn, evolve, and improve.