Housing Assessment: Tenant Participation and Anti-Social Behaviour

This report explores the concept of tenant participation in housing management, examining its benefits and drawbacks. It delves into Arnstein's Ladder of Participation and its relevance to tenant engagement. The report further investigates the challenges posed by anti-social behaviour and empty properties within housing estates, highlighting the need for effective strategies to address these issues. It concludes with recommendations for improving housing services and fostering a more positive living environment for residents.

[HOUSING ASSESSMENT]

Table of Contents
Part 1..........................................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................2
ARNSTEIN’S LADDER OF PARTICIPATION...............................................................................3
INTERRELATION BETWEEN TENANT PARTICIPATION AND LADDER OF PARTICIPATION.......6
POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF TENANT PARTICIPATION................................................................7
POTENTIAL DISADVANTAGES OF TENANT PARTICIPATION...................................................9
CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................10
PART 2......................................................................................................................................11
INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................11
RESIDENTS ARE DISSATISFIED WITH THE WAY THAT ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR IS
ADDRESSED..........................................................................................................................12
EMPTY AND BOARDED FLATS ARE MAKING THE ESTATE UNATTRACTIVE AND ATTRACTING
VANDALS..............................................................................................................................14
ACTION PLAN........................................................................................................................16
RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION.............................................................................17
2

Part 1
INTRODUCTION
This part of assignment focuses on understanding the concept of tenant participation. It
includes explanation and interrelation between the tenant participation and ladder of
participation. This part of assignment includes the potential advantage as well as
disadvantage of tenant participation.
3

ARNSTEIN’S LADDER OF PARTICIPATION
Ladder of citizen participation was developed by Sherry Arnstein in the year 1969 that
showed the range of participation starting from low to high. There is 3 degree in Arnstein
model that are citizen power, tokenism, and non-participation (Arnstein, 2015). It has 8
steps in the ladders wherein each step defines the power in taking an important decision. It
is an illustration of power as well as powerlessness of the people. The 8 steps of ladders are
described below:
Arnstein’s Ladder of participation
[Source: http://www.citizenshandbook.org/arnsteinsladder.html]
Manipulation:
This is the lowest step in the ladder of participation which can be also called as non-
participation. In this form of participation, the citizens and public are manipulated into
thinking about the progress through public participation.
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Therapy:
This is also another non-participative step that aims to educate the participants. Group
therapy is the lowest step on the ladder as it has both dishonest as well as arrogant and is
masked as citizen participation (Michels and De Graaf, 2010).
Informing:
This is the third step in the ladder of participation, which is the first most important step to
legitimate participation. It includes informing the citizen about their rights, options as well
as responsibilities. It includes the one-way flow of information which has no channel of
feedback or negotiation power.
Consultation:
This is another legitimate step used in citizen participation in which most frequent methods
used to consult people are public hearings, attitude survey and neighbourhood meetings. If
the opinions of the people are not considered then it is just window dressing rituals.
Placation:
This is the highest degree of tokenism which allows the selected citizens to advise or plan
but retain the power holders the right to judge the legitimacy of the advice (Arnstein, 2015).
One of the common examples of placation is the participation in Model Cities Advisory as
well as planning committees.
Partnership:
There is an equal distribution of power between the citizens and power holders where they
agree to share their responsibilities in planning as well as decision-making through different
structures such as joint policy boards, planning committees as well as mechanisms in order
to resolve deadlocks (Michels and De Graaf, 2010).
Delegated power:
In this step, the citizens hold the authority of taking a dominant decision over a particular
plan or program because of negotiation between citizens and power holders. Majority of
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the seat in the committee are held by citizens with the delegated power to make decisions
as well as assure accountability of program or plan.
Citizen control: this is the topmost ladder in the citizen participation. This step advocates
the neighbourhood corporation with no intermediaries between them as well as sources of
funds (Arnstein, 2015). The degree of power is demanded by the people in order to govern
the program or an institution.
6

INTERRELATION BETWEEN TENANT PARTICIPATION AND LADDER OF
PARTICIPATION
Tenant participation is referred to the range of opportunities in order to share opinions and
views about the housing services. Tenant participation is considered as one of the essential
parts of working of a social housing organization by supporting communities (Suszyńska,
2015). Tenant participation is a two-way process where landlords consider it as value
engagement thereby recognised as an important component to improve the business.
The range of tenant participation is that has different levels starting from operational to
strategic. The interests, availability as well as the capacity of tenants are the basis of their
engagement at all the levels. It is noted that in order to effect delivery of services,
engagement at all level is equally important.
Tenant participation is related to the ladder of participation as it broadly represented as
information, involvement, consultation as well as a partnership (Kassela, et al. 2017). The
informing stage in the ladder of participation is a legitimate step where the tenants are
informed about the housing service with no channel of feedback as the emphasis is on one-
way information flow. Involvement in social housing result in selecting people onto the
committee by allowing them to advise or plan but the rights to judge the feasibility of advice
or plan is retained to the power holders.
Consulting the tenants by asking them to complete the surveys or provide the feedback on
the housing services for housing satisfaction (Ali, et al. 2015). The role of the tenant is
determined when the feedback provided by the tenant is responded by the landlord. Equal
distribution of power is done by negotiation between citizen as well as power holders. Joint
committees of landlords and tenants are formed where planning, as well as decision-making
responsibilities, are mutual.
7

POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF TENANT PARTICIPATION
With effective tenant participation, every member such as tenants, staffs as well as
landlords is benefitted in terms of cost, effort and time. There are various potential benefits
of tenant participation such as providing better services that are improved in terms of value
for money, effective communication between staff and tenants, better connection between
the community as well as landlords, increased tenant satisfaction and also helps in removing
any mistrust (Malpass and Victory, 2010). Due to an increase of tenant participation in
housing organization, some of the major benefits of tenant participation are mentioned
below in management of their housing organization:
Community development: with the increase in the levels of tenant participation, there is
continuous improvement in skills of the tenants as well as improvement in social networks
in estates. There were positive consequences to every individual tenant due to joint working
or control and effective communication process.
Improvement in housing management: increase in tenant participation results in a better
decision due to minimisation of management problems as well as rapid identification of
issues in services delivery. It is viewed that tenant participation leads to improvement in
housing management quality (Rogers, 2011). The government of UK as well as housing
corporations have advocated the increase in tenant involvement in housing management
and have associated with the funding availability.
Greater tenant satisfaction: tenant participation helps in developing tenant satisfaction
through a sense of ownership as well as effective service delivery. It is observed that tenant
satisfaction is related to the quality of services offered as compared to tenant participation
(Manzi, 2010). If the result of tenant participation is satisfactory then only the tenant
participation will increase satisfaction. The outcome of the tenant participation either
increases or decreases the level of tenant satisfaction as there might be improvement or
deterioration in the services.
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Helping councillors as well as board members: useful information can be provided through
tenant participation to local housing committee members as well as housing board
association. This helps them in early identification of issues in an effective manner thus
leading to improved services (Darcy, 2010) . Tenant participation results in open
communication regarding the issues experienced by the organization.
Therefore, it is essential to involve tenants in different levels as well as a variety of ways. It is
observed that involving tenants may be beneficial as it helps in providing quality services, as
well as create a sense of accountability to the tenant as well as local communities and build
social as well as community capacity.
9

POTENTIAL DISADVANTAGES OF TENANT PARTICIPATION
There are various disadvantages of tenant participation which can be discussed below:
Lack of resources: in order to have an effective participation, it is essential to get hold of
various resources which may divert the group from its original purpose as well as take a
great deal of time as well as energy.
Lack of skilled support: it is essential for the tenant groups to possess the skills that support
in developing the services in the housing association (Suszyńska, 2015). Without skill, it is
difficult to identify the services and issues that need to be improved as well as resolve
effectively thereby by empowering them.
Internal disagreement: due to an increase of involvement of a large number of tenants, the
possibility of disagreement among them increases. Factionalism is rife amongst tenant
groups (Kassela, et al. 2017). It is essential to select an appropriate number of a tenant by
involving them in the activities of Housing Corporation to avoid its failure.
Loss of independence: the tenants may find that either each tenant or some of the tenants
are included in the structure of landlord which results in loss of independence (Darcy, 2010).
Communication issues: due to the involvement of a large number of tenants, there is an
increase in the issues regarding effective communication (Wiesel, 2014). A large number of
tenant participation leads to misunderstanding and other major issues which may affect the
quality of services due to lack of literacy and poor social as well as personal skills issues to
communicate effectively increases.
Therefore it can be said that excessive tenant participation might not only hamper the
effectiveness of current services but also affect the future improvement in the housing
services.
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CONCLUSION
Thus it can be concluded that tenant participation can be connected with the Arnstein’s
ladder of participation which will be helpful in deciding the degree of tenant participation.
Also, it is essential to balance the tenant participation in order to deliver effective and
quality housing services.
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PART 2
INTRODUCTION
This report is presented to the management board at Goldacre Housing Association. This
report includes the dissatisfaction of residents due to inappropriate addressing of anti-social
behaviours as well as empty and boarded flats attracting vandalism and sabotage. It also
includes the two elements in managing housing services. This report includes the SMART
plan in order to improve the services. Anti-social behaviour is referred to the conduct that
causes distress or annoyance to the local people, neighbours, employees as well as
contractors (Innes and Weston, 2010). This also includes the actions done by the tenant,
children, partner, or pets or anyone visiting the property.
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RESIDENTS ARE DISSATISFIED WITH THE WAY THAT ANTI-SOCIAL
BEHAVIOUR IS ADDRESSED
The anti-social behaviour described by UK government refers to an intimidating or
threatening activity which may scare the individual or damage the quality of life of an
individual. There are basically three categories of anti-social behaviour which are street
problems, environmental crimes, or nuisance neighbours (Donoghue, 2010). The key issue
identified by residents such as rowdy or inconsiderable behaviour, graffiti, rubbish or
vandalism, inappropriate usage of vehicles and so on are some of the broad range of
conducts covered in these categories. The impact of anti-social behaviour is huge on
individual, families as well as communities thereby preventing a peaceful community life as
well as degrading the environment.
Due to anti-social behaviour, the quality of life of residents is adversely impacted and has a
detrimental impact on the not only victim but also on the whole community. It is recognised
that every person has right to choose their own lifestyle but do not spoil the quality of life of
others (Yau, 2012). Therefore, various policies or procedures are to be applied to tenants,
residents, families as well as other visitors. Proper addressing of the issues is essential in
order to effectively resolve the anti-social behaviour irrespective of the tenure.
Informal resolution is to be taken in order to prevent the victims of anti-social behaviour
through mediation. In case of any serious incidents, Acceptable Behaviour Contract is to be
set up thereby monitoring the accepted behaviour of the perpetrator. If the issue continues
legal actions are to be taken in order to prevent the perpetrator to cause any further anti-
social behaviour (Innes and Weston, 2010). In order to tackle anti-social behaviour, legal
actions can be taken by the residents and families. Various acts such as Human Rights Act
1998, Noise and Statutory Nuisance Act 1993, Environmental Protection Act 1990, Anti-
Social Behaviour Act 2003, Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
It is imperative for the housing association to be abided by the relevant legislation that
includes the statutory Housing Management Guidance issued by the Homes and
Communities Agency. According to Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003, the powers, as well as
duties of the landlords, are broadened in order to publish the policies as well as procedures
regarding anti-social behaviour. It is essential to prevent anti-social activities that might
affect the residents and families. Actions are to be taken by the communities by
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encouraging them to report the anti-social activities in surroundings thereby encouraging
Good Neighbour Agreements between tenants and landlords and also the culture of respect
in the community.
Six core commitments were incorporated in the respect Standards for Housing Management
by UK government such as accountability, leadership and commitment, prevention and early
intervention, protecting communities by swift enforcement, empowering and reassuring
residents, tailoring the services for residents as well as support provision for victims and also
witnesses, support to tackle the causes of anti-social behaviour (Dowson, et al. 2012). A
wide range of mechanism includes telephone, e-mail, interaction with housing team,
website, written correspondence, a third party like Local Authority, Partner Agency,
Councillor, relative, are available to report the incidents of Anti-Social Behaviour.
14

EMPTY AND BOARDED FLATS ARE MAKING THE ESTATE UNATTRACTIVE
AND ATTRACTING VANDALS
Empty houses are considered as waste housing resources that can attract a large number of
vandalised activity and nuisance. It can be divided into two types that are problematic and
transitional vacancies. Transitional vacancies are referred to those empty houses that have
been vacant for less than 6 months between the ownership and tenancies (Dowson, et al.
2012). Problematic properties are those that are empty for more than 6 months without any
intervention. Due to this, it can result in deterioration of communities as well as villages as
few people contribute to the economy of the country.
As research by Liberal Democrats, it was found that more than 11,000 homes around the UK
are empty for 10 years and above. The figures provided by the local council state that more
than 216,000 homes across the UK are empty for 6 months or more.
There are various reasons for the vacancy of properties as some of the properties are empty
due to relocation, selling, or any family dispute, or lack of renovation. These properties are
left due to the high cost of maintenance and costly innovation. Leaving this property attracts
crime and vandalism in that area and sparks a migration (Cheshire, et al. 2017). Some of the
property dealers buy these properties in order to hold it and wait for the prices to rise.
Various empty properties are being seized by the Councils as they have the power and
various progress have been made since last 10 years.
Owners have their own individual reasons to keep their houses empty and there can be a
way to route back to occupation in terms of staff time as well as money. Various measures
are taken by the UK government so as to reduce the number of empty homes since the
financial crisis (Gallent, et al. 2017). The owners of the empty homes are offered help,
advice as well as information in order to make effective use of the housing properties.
The Council in the UK has charged up to 50 per cent of council tax if the homes are
remained vacant for 2 years or more. The residents and owner can take immediate
measures in order to address the problems of empty homes that includes procedures to
swift report about the abandoned or empty house, placing net curtains on windows and
doors of empty properties, letting properties as soon as possible while taking into
consideration for needs of sensitive as well as appropriate allocations, actions to prevent
failed tenancies (Council, 2016). These housing excludes the derelict property which means
15

the properties damaged by weather, rotten or vandalised or requires any major structural
change to make it usable. Refurbishing and repairing the empty properties in the UK helps in
improving the exterior of the neighbourhood as well as avoiding incidents of vandalism or
crime. Landlords, as well as key workers purchasing properties, can avail empty property
grants in order to bring them in residential use.
Fig 1 Isabelle Fraser, 2017
[Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/house-prices/200000-homes-sitting-empty-
england-worth-total-43bn/]
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ACTION PLAN
Action Lead Target date Progress
Sharing best practices across the authority as
well as through Enforcement Action Group
EJ Attendance
at meetings
-
Identifying the empty homes in order to keep up
to date database
E A Group - -
Identifying the reasons and ascertaining the
issues by contacting owners and visiting
properties
EJ - -
Identifying and arranging funds in order to assist
in bringing empty homes into reuse
E A Group Reactive to
opportunities
-
Encouraging financial assistance and discussing
alternative ownership arrangements
EJ - -
Target completion and fund allocation EJ/ HMR - -
Develop a process for compulsory purchase
order and develop training regarding the rights
and responsibilities of landlords
LEGAL - -
Promoting reports of an empty house as well as
properties with locals and organization.
HMR - -
Action plan review on the strategies of empty
homes and ass new actions
E A Group July 2018 -
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RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION
There are some areas of improvement which are recommended for the local residents. The
roots causes of anti-social behaviour are to be focused on at both individuals as well as
neighbourhood levels. The people engaged in anti-social activities are to be provided with
educational as well as diversionary projects (Cheshire, et al. 2018). Local residents should
raise awareness about the issues regarding the anti-social behaviour among the local
communities along with the greater support to establish and maintain the residents of
neighbourhood groups.
Acceptable Behaviour Contracts and Formal order are the two good practices used by the
local residents to deal with the issues of anti-social behaviour. Compulsory purchase order
and seizing the empty property are the two good practices used to cope up with the empty
house issues (Henderson, 2015). The community police officers community wardens, as well
as concierges, should extend their presence to avoid anti-social activities and vandalism in
empty houses. also, the presence of good strategic framework help in tackling the issues by
promoting reduction in empty homes, increase availability of housing across the UK,
reduction in complaints, funding application to government and majorly improvement in
safety as well as welfare of locals, neighbourhood and also communities (Gallent, et al.
2017).
Thus it can be concluded that local residents need to be proactive in addressing the issues
regarding the anti-social behaviour by taking rapid actions in order to get satisfaction. Also,
the empty homes and boarded flats are the major attractions to vandalism and crimes.
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