By Jonathan Clode – Homelessness Prevention Project Co-ordinator

The term ‘anti-social behaviour’ will be familiar to most people. It will likely conjure images of hooded youths intimidating otherwise tranquil neighbourhoods, and noisy, drunken, uncaring attitudes that impinge upon considerate, law abiding ways. But this is all a question of perception, one often worsened by social anxieties the media is all too quick to fuel. The label of anti-social behaviour can be a debilitating stigma, one that sticks, and for some people leads to eviction from their homes.

Our new Shelter Cymru report, Reframing Anti-Social Behaviour: a review of homelessness prevention good practice in Wales, argues that it is time to start questioning the umbrella definitions we so readily apply to ASB, and instead look at it in more nuanced terms that actually recognise and try to meet the support needs of those deemed to be ‘anti-social.’

The end of the Covid 19 pandemic has regrettably seen a return to injunctions and possessions among landlords, both private and social.

In 2022, Shelter Cymru legal casework saw thirty social housing cases where possession was sought for issues related to anti-social behaviour. Worryingly, in over half of these cases, the tenant or a member of their family had support needs related to mental health, substance misuse, being a victim of domestic violence, as well as neurodiversity.

Anti-social behaviour is not just a housing issue, but it is clear that appropriate housing support has an important role to play in preventing and responding to it. Social landlords have made great strides in providing support to their tenants, so why are there still cases where people are losing their homes?

Over recent years understanding of the impact of adverse childhood experiences and the adoption of trauma informed and restorative practices has become more widespread; and our research found that many social landlords are adopting these holistic ways of working. But landlords and service providers need to be better equipped with resources and updated national guidance to help ensure that good practice is adopted more consistently across the country. The Wales Housing Management Standard for tackling anti-social behaviour hasn’t been reviewed since 2014 and landlords have no obligation to follow it beyond advice around best practice. Our drum is beating to the exact same tune almost ten years later: less enforcement, more prevention – great idea!

Evidence from our casework found that more challenging and complex cases are continuing to fall through the net. Our discussions with landlords and stakeholders suggested that this is because practices are too process led, staff engagement is inappropriate or inadequate, and the support needs of the alleged perpetrator are simply not being identified.

As well as the provision of housing related support services, the reconfiguration of housing management functions is also supporting some social landlords to adopt a more effective approach. Less focus on specific ASB teams and officers, and a switch to more support-focused roles with smaller caseloads, have enabled staff to support complainants and build better relationships between staff and tenants – something that the restorative model to supporting people puts at the heart of its ideology. The idea that you need to build a relationship with someone if you hope to try and help them has always underpinned the very idea of a meaningful support service.

However, housing support staff are not trained mental health professionals, and the ever swelling elephant in the room remains the lack of timely access to mental health services, given the high proportion of people accused of ASB who are also experiencing mental health problems. The link between ASB and mental health must be stated clearly. The vast majority of people with mental health problems do not commit ASB; however, among people who are accused of ASB, we found a high correlation with unmet mental health support need. This means that problems in accessing mental health services are contributing to avoidable homelessness.

It is also important that we recognise that ASB is often a stress response to toxic environments or difficult past experiences. Successful prevention means understanding people’s unique circumstances and triggers in order to prevent them going into that stress response. This type of work is relationship-based, person-centred and support-intensive, but is proven to deliver consistently good outcomes for the individuals involved. From a business perspective it can also assist landlords by reducing void and court costs.

Meaningful partnership working is key to ensuring people have a decent chance of sustaining their tenancies, from allocation and tenancy sign-up, to providing appropriate and timely interventions if things start to go wrong. There are some fantastic examples of community services working together, and for many of them there are common threads that contribute to their success. This involves taking the time to understand the challenges and constraints that each service is under, spending less time playing pass the human parcel, and keeping one eye on the here and now while another is looking down the road to ensure the parcel doesn’t get dumped in the middle of it.

The term ‘anti-social behaviour’ is in itself problematic. It is a term too readily pinned against a number of behaviours, all of which vary greatly in presentation and have a variety of root causes. Perhaps we might recognise the potential for anti-social behaviour traits in ourselves, ones that often fly under the radar because of the way they appear: it’s a balmy weekend, the sun has gone down, we’re having a select gathering, surely no-one round here has work tomorrow, why not open that third bottle of Marlborough sauvignon blanc and bring Alexa out into the garden… anti-social! Says who?

Labelling someone as a perpetrator of ASB leads to an instant judgement that can have detrimental implications in relation to how that person is perceived, particularly among support services. Perhaps if we dispensed with the term ‘anti-social behaviour’ we might find ourselves better able to make a more thoughtful assessment of the particular issues being presented. It could also lead to the type of approach where a person would receive support on the basis of their need at that time, as opposed to a response to an allegation of behaviour.

Perspective matters, and for some people it can define their lives. By reframing ASB as a symptom of unmet support needs, we will be better able to give social housing tenants a voice that isn’t just sought when something has gone wrong, but rather heard at a time that empowers them to be, and remain, part of a community in a settled home with access to the support that they need. In this way, we can build towards stronger and more inclusive communities across Wales.

You can read our report on anti social behaviour here >

For further information about this report or about our wider research work to prevent homelessness in Wales, please email [email protected]

by Dewi John

The sky above us is grey… It is that time of year yet again, storm season, which for many people across Wales can only mean one thing… flooding. This will mean sleepless nights for hundreds of households across Wales – who worry about their homes every time it rains, thinking back to the memory of what happened this month two years ago. February 2020 brought with it record levels of flooding across Wales. Our communities are still dealing with the scars of these storms.

Shelter Cymru believes we must tackle our un-readiness to deal with the symptoms of climate change, especially as the Deputy Climate Change Minister warns that “the consequences of not acting will be profound for Wales”. Climate change will see sea levels rise by at least 1.3 – 2.6 feet by 2100. If we do not act now to mitigate the impacts of flooding and extreme weather events, we will further exacerbate existing inequalities, which will result in disruption to our infrastructure and will  cause some of our coastal communities to  disappear forever by 2050.

Together with our partners Tai Pawb and the Chartered Institute of Housing Cymru, we are campaigning to enshrine the right to adequate housing into Welsh law. We’re pleased that the recent Co-operation Agreement between the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru includes a commitment to a White Paper to explore such a right. A right to adequate housing can help us to combat both the impacts of climate change but also catalyse our journey to achieving net zero.

A right to adequate housing will mean investment in flood defences for parts of Wales which are more susceptible to flooding, bringing a cost/benefit ratio of more than 5:1. It will help spur on the current Welsh Government’s ambitious housebuilding commitments, and, in the uncertain future, it will hardwire a commitment to improving people’s homes –  ensuring that good quality, greener homes are front and centre of the delivery agenda as well as defending and decarbonising our existing homes across Wales.

We welcome the commitment within the Cooperation Agreement to commission an independent review of the Section 19 reports produced into extreme flooding in Wales in the winter of 2020 and 2021, with the commitment to act on the recommendations made. We also welcome the commitment to deliver an increased investment into flood and coastal erosion risk management and mitigation over the course of this Senedd term to minimise the likelihood of flooding of homes by 2050.  We must not however, underestimate the scale of the challenge we face and its importance. Realising a right to adequate housing will require agile and deliberate collaboration across the layers of governance. This however, is the right thing to do, to ensure that the painful lessons of two years ago are repeated as infrequently as possible in the future.

Shelter Cymru believes that home is everything and that everyone deserves a good home. But unless our current and new homes can withstand the pressures of extreme weather events, our shared housing emergency will only become further entrenched by climate change.

On behalf of Shelter Cymru, I congratulate each and every new and returning member of the Senedd. We look forward to working with you all over the course of the 6^th Senedd.

The 6^th Senedd starts during a period of immense challenge across Wales. As we look to build back better and fairer from the pandemic, we must ensure that people’s homes are front and centre. We cannot expect people to get back into work, children to excel in their education and for people to live healthy and happy lives without good homes. Home is everything.

All parties gave housing attention and focus in their campaigns. We now need to start address the housing emergency. We’re keen to work with the new Welsh Government to deliver on their key commitments to housing. From 20,000 new social homes, more protections for renters across Wales and  ensuring that people in temporary housing are helped into long term homes, and no-one is forced to return to the streets. The challenges are immense. Only by working in partnership, will Wales be able to achieve the ambitious goal of ending our housing emergency, once and for all.

Shelter Cymru has a proud record of supporting people in housing need and fighting for good homes for everyone. We stand ready to help all of our new MSs as they face some of the biggest challenges of our time. We also stand ready to push and drive change where needed, being a critical friend to government and making the  voices of people – people across Wales whose daily lives are affected by homelessness or poor and unaffordable housing –  heard at the highest level. There is lots to do, but we look forward to contributing to ending the housing emergency in Wales.

We wish you all success in rising to the challenges and opportunities of the 6^th Senedd.

Yours,

Ruth Power | CEO, Shelter Cymru