Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Awareness Week Series – Part 4
As part of ASB Awareness Week, our housing management team has curated a series of articles which give practical advice and insight into four core themes surrounding ASB, with a focus on making our communities safer.
This fourth and final part focuses on: More early intervention. Look out for our round-up newsletter to be published on Friday 3 July 2026 which brings together the series published this week.
More early intervention and what could that look like
As part of their key asks for ASB Week 2026, Resolve highlights that social landlords are often forced to respond to ASB only after problems have escalated, and significant harm has already been caused to victims and communities.
Resolve is therefore calling for increased funding for early intervention and prevention, enabling risks to be identified sooner, vulnerable individuals to be supported earlier and persistent ASB prevented before it becomes more serious and costly to address.
Early intervention and prevention of ASB is central to tenancy management and can help to avoid the need for litigation. To be effective and to ensure that all of the ASB toolkit can be utilised, social landlords must adopt a multi-agency approach and aim to stop issues escalating to enforcement or possession stage.
What can early intervention look like? Below is a breakdown of practical steps that could be taken by a social landlord at an early intervention and prevention stage when ASB is reported:
1. Tenancy management and early engagement
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Clear tenancy agreements setting out behavioural expectations from the outset and avoiding the use of duplicate or complex clauses that a tenant may not understand.
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Sign-up conversations emphasising ASB standards and consequences if these tenancy clauses are breached. A simple ASB factsheet could be used at the outset when signing up new tenants.
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Early contact at first complaint rather than waiting for escalation and the matter potentially needing urgent litigation through without notice ASB injunctions.
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Regular tenancy sustainment visits, especially in the first 12 months, to check compliance with tenancy terms and to address any early concerns of either the landlord or tenant.
Helps establish expectations and address low-level issues quickly.
2. Early resolution and informal action
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Warning letters and advisory visits are a useful tool to formally warn tenants of their behaviour and potential action that may be taken if not rectified. Ensure that they are retained on the tenant’s housing file so that they can be evidenced in any proceedings with the court.
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Good neighbour agreements need to be in writing, setting out clear provisions that have been agreed upon.
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Mediation referrals (independent or in-house services) with the agreement of all parties.
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Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABCs) are voluntary agreements to modify behaviour that can be relied upon in any court proceedings if they are not adhered to, showing that alternative methods have been attempted.
Informal tools are often effective for low-level or neighbour disputes and avoid formal action.
3. Tenant Support & Vulnerability-Based Interventions
Social landlords have a key role in identifying vulnerability and complying with their Public Sector Equality Duty:
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Referrals to the following should be considered:
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Mental health services
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Drug and alcohol support
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Domestic abuse services
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Specialist tenancy sustainment teams should be considered, with the aim of providing practical support to tenants and looking to address any underlying issues that may be causing ASB.
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The use of support plans alongside tenancy enforcement should be considered.
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A landlord should ensure that any new vulnerabilities disclosed by the tenant are reviewed to comply with the ongoing Public Sector Equality Duty and any decision to take action is thoroughly considered to ensure action is taken appropriately.
Many ASB cases involve underlying vulnerabilities – support reduces recurrence and creates a greater chance of the issues being resolved.
4. Multi-agency working
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Participation in Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs), which bring together local partners to formulate and implement strategies to tackle crime, disorder and antisocial behaviour in their communities.
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Joint working with:
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Police
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Local authority ASB teams
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Youth Offending Teams
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Social services
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Domestic abuse support workers
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Information sharing protocols and case conferences
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Organising and participating in multi-agency meetings
Essential where ASB is persistent, complex, or involves safeguarding concerns.
5. Youth-focused interventions
Where ASB involves young people:
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Referrals to early help / youth services
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Engagement with schools and families to try and work to prevent behaviour
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Support for diversionary activities (sports, youth clubs)
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Partnership work with youth offending teams
Prevents escalation into criminal behaviour.
6. Estate management and situational prevention
Where “hot spots” of ASB occur, a social landlord could consider physical changes to the locality such as:
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Improved lighting, CCTV and secure entry systems
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The removal of “hiding places” or blind spots on CCTV coverage
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Effective management of communal areas
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Rapid removal of graffiti, vandalism or fly-tipping related issues
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Managing void properties to prevent misuse
These steps reduce the opportunities for ASB to occur and improve residents’ confidence in their local area.
7. Community engagement and cohesion
Where appropriate, community engagement can go a long way to tackling some of the ASB encountered. There are many good examples of tenant-led community schemes which have had a huge impact on the localities within which they operate. Social landlords could:
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Support the creation of tenant and resident associations with specific aims to tackle the causes of ASB within the community and to promote community cohesion.
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Engage in community events to build relationships with the local community and its leaders.
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Strengthen local reporting channels for ASB concerns by providing a dedicated, single point of contact for residents.
8. Early use of the ASB toolkit
Where more informal methods for tackling reported ASB fail, landlords can carefully consider reasonable and proportionate use of the legal options available in the ASB toolkit such as:
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Working with the police to enable a Community Protection Warning (CPW) to be served.
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Supporting the Local Authority and/or the police in an application for a Closure Order.
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The issue of an application for an Injunction pursuant to the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
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Service of a Notice Seeking Possession relying on the relevant grounds for possession and clearly setting out the behaviour complained of.
It is essential that the issue of possession proceedings is reserved as a last resort option and a landlord must show that they have sought a “lesser measure” before commencing proceedings to recover vacant possession of the tenant’s property. Full use of the ASB toolkit from an early stage can really strengthen the prospects of successfully bringing possession proceedings where all other interventions have failed.
9. Staff training and professional practice
The world of ASB is ever-changing, as is the legal and regulatory framework we work within. It is essential therefore that social landlords ensure that those officers tackling ASB on a day-to-day basis are equipped with the latest knowledge and learning to enable them to make a real difference in their communities.
Staff training is an essential part of ensuring up-to-date knowledge is held by all officers. Clear professional practice guidance ensures that all staff are taking a consistent approach and will mean that a landlord’s policies and procedures are being followed at all times.
Social landlords should:
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Ensure all staff receive ongoing training to ensure that officers are fully aware of the legal and regulatory framework that they work within.
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Consider training officers in areas such as conflict resolution, victim and witness support techniques, conducting effective risk assessments and how to identify safeguarding and vulnerability risks at an early stage.
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Ensure that all internal policies and procedures are aligned with legislation and the Regulator of Social Housing’s consumer standards and ensure that there is a regular system of review and amendment to ensure that they stay up to date and fit for purpose.
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Have regular “lessons learned” sessions for officers involved in ASB cases to share good practice with peers to ensure a consistent and appropriate approach in future cases.
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Consider setting up regular panel meetings with local support agencies such as the police, the local authority, Adult Social Care and the mental health services to discuss active ASB complaints and to ensure a fully joined-up, multi-agency approach to tackling ASB at an early stage.
Why does early intervention matter?
Taking appropriate action at an early stage can have a profound impact. Issues can be tackled before they escalate. Victims can be protected and not exposed to increased risks of harm. The perpetrator can receive early support to tackle any personal issues that they may have which are causing the ASB to be committed.
Evidence of early intervention steps being taken can also greatly strengthen a social landlord’s evidence before court if, ultimately, those early steps taken fail and more formal legal proceedings need to be taken.
Social landlords should act early and proportionately and work alongside other support partners with a focus on sustaining tenancies wherever possible.
If you would like to discuss further, please get in touch with our housing management team.
If you missed the first two parts of the series – you can still catch up:
Part 1: Universal support for victims of ASB – a practical outline
Part 2: Addressing delays in the civil justice system: A two-tier approach
Part 3: Removing barriers to reporting ASB