ForHousing successfully achieved their fourth Housemark Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) accreditation in January 2021 and were the first landlord to achieve 100% compliance against all the commitments outlined in the scheme.

Background

ForHousing owns and manage more than 24,000 homes and delivers housing management services for other landlords. Their ASB service is delivered by neighbourhood teams, supported by a specialist community safety team. All reports of ASB go through a triage process operated by a community safety adviser in the central team.

Housemark’s ASB accreditation provided them with the opportunity to validate their approach, provide reassurance to residents and other stakeholders, and help them to adopt a culture of continuous improvement.

Methodology

This assessment was delivered through a blend of:

  • Self-assessment followed by a desktop review of the self-assessment and supporting documents.
  • A review of 15 live and closed case files were selected at random.
  • Six staff members were interviewed from varying teams and seniority levels, as well as two customers.
  • Detailed findings and recommendations, which were shared in the final report, evidencing where ForHousing is delivering sector-wide best practice as well as highlighting areas for improvement.

Outcomes

  • Independent, external validation to provide assurance to ForHousing’s Board, customers and other stakeholders that their approach to tackling ASB is effective and represents sector-wide best practice.
  • Confidence that ForHousing is delivering on the requirements of the Social Housing White Paper.
  • Clear expectations to meet the requirements of the seven core commitments provided a consistency of approach for the team.

 In their own words

“We see our Housemark ASB accreditations as integral to our commitment in this area. Not only does it provide independent assurance to ForHousing tenants, customers, and stakeholders but provides us as a team with confidence that we are taking the best possible approach. We are committed to continuously improving what we do, and by undertaking the accreditation we are constantly learning and identifying areas for improvement. Our Housemark assessor was easy to work with, and always thorough and fair.

 

It’s important for us that we effectively manage expectations and deliver on what we say we will do. The accreditation provides a fantastic framework to make sure this happens, with everybody involved in our ASB response clear on what we are trying to achieve.

 

There is always more we can do. ASB featured heavily in the Social Housing White Paper and we will continue to adapt our approach, so that every tenant feels safe and happy in their home and part of a strong community. The recommendations made as part of the accreditation will help to give us the direction and focus to achieve this and we feel more prepared to respond to upcoming regulatory requirements.”