Making a Complaint aboutAnti-Social Behaviour

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Registered under the Industrial & Provident Societies Acts (No. 9133R(S))Charity registered in Scotland (No. SC032782)

THIS LEAFLET IS PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER

Who is this information for?

This information is for people experiencing anti social behaviour who want to know how to make a complaint to us. It summarises our policy and approach to tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) in our communities.

We believe that all tenants have a right to live peacefully in their homes and, as such, take very seriously, the issue of anti-social behaviour which adversely affects that right (Section 5.1 of Thenew’s ASB Policy).

What is this information about?

This leaflet explains what anti social behaviour is, shows you how to complain to us and sets out how we will respond.

What is anti social behaviour?

Anti-social means “causing or likely to cause alarm, distress, nuisance or annoyance to any person or causing damage to anyone’s property. Harassment of a person includes causing the person alarm or distress.” (Section 3.2 of your tenancy agreement).

The 2004 Anti Social Behaviour Act also defines anti social behaviour in this way:

A person engages in anti-social behaviour if he/she:

a) acts in a manner that causes or is likely to cause alarm or distress; orb) pursues a course of conduct that causes or is likely to cause alarm or distress, to at least one person who is not of the same household.

A Commitment to being a Good Neighbour

The tenancy agreementOur tenants have signed a tenancy agreement which says:

“You, those living with you, and your visitors must not harass or act in an anti-social manner to, or pursue a course of anti-social conduct against any person in the neighbourhood. Such people include residents, visitors, our employees, agents and contractors and those in your house.”

The tenancy agreement is, in effect, each tenant’s signed commitment to be a good neighbour.

How will we respond to your complaint?

Our Policy CommitmentsWe will:

• take all complaints about ASB seriously.• respond to all complaints concerning ASB promptly.• promote mediation as a means of resolving neighbour disputes.• always offer a home visit to the complainant.• ensure that, wherever possible, staff deal face to face with tenants in the first instance.• listen sympathetically to all tenants and will not prejudge or make assumptions.• advise tenants of the actions they can take in response to ASB.• support the victims of ASB, particularly where they are at risk of reprisals and are required to give evidence in a court against their neighbour.• give regular updates on progress, advice on potential future action to complainants.

There are many ways we can deal with anti social complaints (please see our ASB Policy for further details) ranging from warning the perpetrator about their behaviour to taking them to court and seeking their eviction. Thenew will only seek a decree for eviction when all other solutions have been pursued or considered as inappropriate.

The action we take depends on the nature of the complaint and what we are legally able to do.

How can I make a complaint?

Before making a complaint to Thenew, ask yourself whether the issue could be resolved by speaking to the individual concerned. This can work at the start of a relatively minor problem. Please only consider this if you feel it is safe to do so. If you’d like to talk this through with a member of staff please contact us. We will always be prepared to get involved where you do not wish to take action yourself.

If you do wish to complain you do not have to put your complaint in writing but we may ask you to record incidents in ‘diary sheets’.

You can make a complaint by:

• Asking for a home visit if appropriate• Telephoning or visiting our local office• Emailing us at admin@thenewhousing.co.uk• Using the attached form

Complaints by or about non-Thenew tenantsWhere we receive a complaint from a sharing owner or owner occupier or their sub let we will investigate the matter using the same approach as set out in our ASB Policy. The action we can taken however may not be the same.

Will my complaint be confidential?We will make every effort to protect the confidentiality of complaints made, and avoid the risk of any action we take exacerbating a situation.

We will make every attempt to act on each complaint made, however we may not take any or further action where the complaint is anonymous and/ or there is no corroboration from a reliable or impartial source.

How does Thenew categorise complaints of anti-social behaviour?Category A: complaints of a very serious anti-social nature, eg. assault, drug dealing, racial harassment, etc.Category B: complaints which indicate serious anti-social behaviour, eg. excessive & persistent noise, verbal abuse, etc.Category C: complaints where neighbours clearly breach the tenants but are of a relatively minor nature, eg. stair cleaning issues, occasional noise nuisance, etc.

How quickly will we respond?This depends on the above categories:

Category A or B: within one working dayCategory C: within five working days

Service Complaints

Any customer, whether the victim or perpetrator of antisocial behaviour, who is unhappy about the manner or procedure followed in dealing with a complaint can register a complaint using our Customer Complaints Policy.

ANTI-SOCIAL COMPLAINT FORM

Your Name

Your Address

Your Telephone Number

Who/what are you complaining about?

How many times as the behaviour/issue occurred?

Where has the behaviour/issue occurred?

Have any other people witnessed this behaviour/issue?

Have you tried to resolve the issue yourself?

YES NO

What can we do to help?

Return to:Thenew Housing Association Ltd

83 Green Street, Calton, Glasgow, G40 2TFor

2 Main Street, Bridgeton, Glasgow, G40 1HAor

14 Ruchazie Place, Cranhill, Glasgow, G33 3HAor

49 Blaeloch Drive, Castlemilk, Glasgow, G45 9QJ