The Government has increasingly made anti-social behaviour a top priority and the ‘Respect Agenda’ has afforded new responsibilities on social landlords in addition to existing provisions in the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003, Crime and Disorder Act 1998 & Housing Act 1996. 

YHN, as management agent for the City Council, has developed strategies, policies and procedures over a number of years to support its tenants and residents and takes a lead role in the over-arching partnership ‘Safe Newcastle’. Newcastle City Council’s Community Safety Unit is central to developing the partnership’s `Anti-Social Behaviour Strategy` with YHN which aims to reduce nuisance, anti-social behaviour and disorder, and is committed to ensuring that everyone is entitled to live without harassment or fear.

YHN aims to surpass the expectations of the Government’s Respect Standard for Housing Management and is recognised by Newcastle City Council’s Strategic Housing Service as the lead agency in delivering the ‘Respect’ standard in the City.

We aim to demonstrate this through:

• Contributing to Newcastle’s response to anti-social behaviour through our specialist Housing, Anti Social Behaviour & Enforcement team (HASBET)
• Tackling anti-social behaviour consistently across all tenures to meet the Government’s ‘Respect’ standard for housing management, and therefore increasing demand for our properties, reducing void levels and ensuring the sustainability of estates
• Carrying out home improvements using secure by design standards
• Tackling anti-social behaviour on estates promptly and effectively through our graded response
• Managing the Family Intervention Project on behalf of Safe Newcastle
• Increasing investment in security works and services such as controlled door entry systems and the concierge services
• Managing Newcastle’s graded response early intervention process by co-ordinating a series of warning letters linked to Police & City Council intelligence to ensure that we target the most persistent offenders to prevent anti-social behaviour from escalating  
• Signing the Respect Standard for Housing Management in July 2007.

Our commitment to reducing anti-social behaviour

Your Homes Newcastle (YHN) has a number of aims and objectives in relation to tackling anti-social behaviour.  These are to:

• Tackle anti-social behaviour, neighbour nuisance and harassment on estates promptly and effectively, through partnership working,
• Continually improve our specialist Housing, Anti Social Behaviour and Enforcement Team, which supports local staff in tackling and reducing nuisance and harassment
• Provide guidance to all housing management staff through appropriate training, policies and procedures that will be used consistently to meet the challenges presented by nuisance and harassment
• Provide appropriate support to individual victims, witnesses and communities who face problems in their homes and on their estates. A dedicated Victim Support worker is employed within the Housing, Anti-social Behaviour and Enforcement Team.
• Consult with tenants and other residents and work with them to reach appropriate and mutually beneficial solutions to problems, 
• Implement service standards in relation to anti-social behaviour so that service users are clear about the service they can expect from us
• Support the Safe Newcastle partnership by working together with Newcastle City Council, Northumbria Police and other partners in a co-ordinated way to pro-actively tackle anti-social behaviour.