Tackling anti-social behaviour in Ireland: Key takeaways from the virtual event

Partnership-working and dealing with data were the two main areas of focus at our recent session on tackling anti-social behaviour in Ireland.

While housing professionals primarily serve to provide and maintain high-quality affordable homes, building cohesive neighbourhoods and promoting safer communities is equally important. 

With the help of anti-social behaviour (ASB) experts Janine Green and Clare Paterson, our recent virtual event explored why partnership-working is so important when dealing with ASB, and what landlords should be aware of when it comes to data. 

While this session was tailored to our Republic of Ireland members, much of what was discussed was just as relevant to landlords operating in the UK.

Here are the key takeaways from the virtual event, which was chaired by membership development manager Caroline Moloney. 

Working in partnership 

The topic of ASB covers many bases, but for Janine Green, partner at Green & Burton Associates, partnership-working underlies it all. The reasons for this are manifold, as a singular organisation doesn't have all the solutions, the information, the necessary resources, or the expertise. 

To ensure the best chance of success, Janine said all partnerships need to be built on the foundations of trust, honesty, accountability, constructive challenges, and respect. Perhaps most importantly, she spoke of the need to always focus on the shared objective, as “that’s where partnership-working can sometimes fall down”. 

According to Janine, there are several key indicators of a failing partnership, including poor communication, such as not responding to emails; taking actions without informing other partners; cases remaining on the agenda much longer than they should; and withholding certain information. 

The are ways in which partners can get themselves back on track, however. As outlined by Janine, these include reflecting on what’s gone wrong and the role you as a partner might have played; reestablishing relationships by being honest and clear on objectives; exploring ways to do things differently; and promoting the benefits of partnership-working in tackling ASB. 

Janine also spoke of the need to escalate where needed – for example, where a partner doesn’t appear willing to engage in remediation efforts. 

Residents as partners 

While it should go without saying, it’s sometimes easy to forget that tenants can also play a key partnership role when dealing with ASB cases. As Janine explained, they can act as “our eyes and ears”; in some cases, they can even be “the best” partner to resolve a particular issue, particularly if they can provide the evidence you need to act. 

The role of the landlord in this relationship, she said, is to be “open, honest and fair” by managing expectations, being mindful of bias, and taking a person-centred approach. Landlords should also display a commitment to effective communications, within the realm of what is lawful, as a lack of (or poorly handled) communication “is almost always” at the heart of resident dissatisfaction. 

Perhaps most importantly, Janine spoke of the need to treat residents “like adults” and to avoid slipping into a “parent-child arrangement”. 

She also said that, where appropriate, landlords should consider asking tenants to attempt to resolve a particular issue. For example, if they have made a noise complaint but have not spoken to the offending party about the issue, they should contact them to see if they can’t resolve the problem between them, without the need for the landlord to get involved.  

Dealing with data

Like partnership-working, data also plays a fundamental role when it comes to ASB. And it was on this topic that Clare Paterson, director and owner of CP Data Protection, shared her expertise. 

Data naturally plays a big role when it comes to dealing with cases of ASB, as not only will information on the tenants concerned need to be taken into account, but there may also be emails, letters, recordings, even phone footage, relevant to a particular case that will also need to be considered. Such data may also need to be shared with partners such as other housing associations or the police.

Cr: Clare Paterson/CP Data Protection

However, as Clare explained, the way in which data is collected, handled, shared and used needs to be carefully thought through, as failures in this area could find the party concerned in breach of data protection laws such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). 

Clare said the first question landlords should ask themselves is: “Should we be collecting this data in the first place? 

“Then can start dealing with questions like, how long do we keep it for, where do we keep it...” 

To avoid falling foul of data protection laws, data should be accurate, relevant, up to date, accessible to those who need to access it, and kept secure from those who shouldn’t be able to access it. 

Legal bases for processing data 

When processing data for an ASB case, Clare highlighted the many “bridges” that can be used to justify the transference of data from the processer (i.e. tenant) to the controller (i.e. landlord). Contrary to the belief of many, she pointed out how consent isn’t always necessary, and should only be sought as a “last resort”. 

Other bridges landlords should look at before considering consent include whether it’s necessary for the tenancy agreement, if there’s a legal obligation, and if it’s in the public (or there’s legitimate) interest. 

“Only when [the above] can’t be applied would you be looking at consent,” Clare said, adding: “Where...we are reporting a crime [for example], you’ve got somebody who’s actually in imminent danger...then absolutely you know that the right thing is to get them help – it isn’t to try and get their consent.”

Different legal bases for processing data (Cr: Clare Paterson/CP Data Protection)

A note on recordings 

Many tenants these days have some kind of video-surveillance installed in their home, whether it’s a ‘Ring’ doorbell or a CCTV system. As Clare explained, tenants can record as much as they like, as long as it is for their own purposes, such as capturing evidence of criminal activity or ASB should it occur. However, it’s when that data is transferred to the landlord that caution must be applied. 

“Once they hand it over to you, with your housing hat on, you become the controller...you are now responsible for it, so you have to be clear on what’s your lawful basis and what you’re going to do with it,” Clare explained. 

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