New legislation will make a difference for social landlords

Published by Eddie for Richmond Housing Partnership Limited in Housing and also in Central Government, Communities

New anti-social behaviour legislation currently being developed in the UK will make a positive difference to social housing, says London housing association RHP.

RHP have been working closely with the Home Office to ensure new streamlined legislation makes it easier for Community Safety professionals and social landlords to resolve anti-social behaviour (ASB). The number of orders and injunctions available to deal with ASB will be simplified from 19 to six, making the process smoother and giving victims closure in the shortest possible time.

Ian Whiteway, ASB Manager at RHP, says: “We have worked very hard to ensure that the voices of housing professionals were heard in the process of shaping this legislation.

 We have a clear focus on taking swift action to make sure that any ASB gets resolved as soon as possible, and we believe that this new legislation will help us help our customers better than ever before.”

RHP has also been at the forefront of national pilots for the Community Trigger, guaranteeing a response to every complaint about ASB across the borough of Richmond. RHP’s ASB Team presented initial results of this pilot to Councils across London last week.

Ian says: “We worked alongside the Home Office on very successful call-handling trials last year, which resulted in a report called ‘Focus on the victim’. RHP’s strong infrastructure and good partnership working ensure that any reported ASB is dealt with efficiently, but we recognise that current legislation can sometimes prolong the process and cause greater distress for victims – something we are keen to put an end to.”

For more information on RHP visit www.rhp.org.uk