Government advice on help available for tackling anti-social behaviour

Last year, the Department of Levelling up Housing and Communities published guidance to support and direct social housing residents with help in dealing with anti-social behaviour (ASB). The guidance explains the roles of the agencies responsible for tackling ASB and the help and support available for residents.

Where there are cases of persistent ASB issues, the guidance points to the Community Trigger, a statutory tool that enables victims to request a multi-agency review of their case. It gives victims, or victims' representatives the right to ask local agencies to review how they have responded to previous ASB complaints and considers what further actions might be taken where the behaviour persists.

The Community Trigger is intended to encourage a collaborative problem-solving approach amongst relevant bodies including the police, local authorities and social landlords dealing with persistent cases of ASB.  

All the relevant bodies have a duty to undertake a case review when someone requests one and their case meets a locally defined threshold. Each area chooses a lead agency to manage the process; this is usually the council or police.