The new “Respect – ASB Charter for Housing”

Introduced by government in 2006, the original Respect Standard for Housing Management played an important role in driving up performance in both preventing and effectively tackling anti-social behaviour. Over 500 social landlord signatories are a clear testimony to its success over the last five years. ASB continues to be a key issue for landlords, tenants and communities, and when the housing minister announced in January 2011 that the Standard would be passed from government to sector ownership, CIH, SLCNG and HouseMark were delighted to be asked to take up the baton.

Sponsored by ReACT the resulting Charter was officially launched to an enthusiastic audience by CIH Chief Executive Sarah Webb at the CIH Annual Conference in Harrogate on 22^nd June.  The Charter has been developed through wide consultation, and is essentially an updating of the Standard. Indeed, following the consultation process it was decided to retain the ‘Respect’ name, it being well-recognised and understood within the sector. The Charter continues to be voluntary, and is a key part of the new, co-regulatory approach within housing. It should be noted that the Charter is not intended to be a wider community safety charter – it is about landlords’ ASB services. However, the importance of partnership working in improving outcomes for service users is acknowledged throughout the Charter.

Signing up to RESPECT  – FAQs

How do we sign up to the Charter?

Signing up to the charter is by self-assessment and is easy. Just complete all the details on the online form on the CIH website by following this link http://www.cih.org/respectstandard/signup.htm and submit it electronically. CIH will send you an email confirmation immediately on receipt of the form and will follow this up with your certificate which you will receive by email within 5 working days.

What do we get?

CIH will issue you with a certificate which you can copy and display around your organisation and also send you an electronic version of the new Respect – ASB Charter for Housing logo.

How can we use the logo?

That is up to you. For example, you may want to include it on your letterheads, website, newsletters etc to demonstrate your ongoing commitment to tackle ASB.

Do we need to meet all of the Charter’s Commitments and Building Blocks?

No, the Charter is intended to be a framework for you to use and adapt to your local circumstances and priorities. It is recognised that there will be a wide range of diverse organisations who will want to sign up to the Charter and, as such, not all of the Commitments and Building Blocks will be appropriate. The aim is for you to work with your tenants to understand what issues are important to them, and work towards ultimately achieving this.

Do we need to re-sign up if we are already signed up to the former Respect Standard for Housing Management?

Yes. Although you will recognise quite a lot of the old Respect Standard for Housing Management in the new Charter, there are a lot of different things in it too – including two completely new commitments. Also, the focus has completely changed from the old Standard – the Charter is now owned by you rather than delivered to you by government. By re-signing you are reaffirming your commitment to your tenants to put tackling ASB at the heart of what you do – re-signing provides a good opportunity to promote the great things you are already doing too.

Can we sign up in partnership with other organisations?

Yes, it is entirely up to you whether you sign up individually or with partners. Just make it clear how you want CIH to present this information on your certificate.

Can we get external accreditation of our sign-up to the Charter?

Yes – the HouseMark and SLCNG ASB Accreditation service does exactly that – it provides an external, critical challenge of your self-assessment against the Charter, and verifies independently whether you are meeting the Commitments and Building Blocks. Support can also be provided to help get you there. More than 25 organisations have already achieved ASB Accreditation. For more information go to the CIH, HouseMark or SLCNG website.

How long is our sign-up to the Charter valid for?

The Charter will be valid on an on-going basis unless there is a fundamental need to change it significantly. CIH aim to work with you to ensure that the Charter remains up-to-date, outcome focused and relevant so it may be tweakedk it from time to time. However, there will be no requirement to re-sign again following minor changes.

With grateful acknowledgments to CIH.

By Mike Blomer MBE 

Related articles

• Respect Standard to be launched at Harrogate (reactasb.wordpress.com)

What’s really being done to tackle anti-social behaviour?

Do you ever wonder how much is being done to tackle ASB? As you know, registered providers (RPs) hold a key part in delivering a balanced approach to taking action against ASB as well as preventive measures. According to a recent online survey carried out in partnership by the TSA and CIH, where RPs and local authorities were allowed to take part; priorities and innovative ideas were seen to be key in making a difference, these findings will be used to shape the work of the newly formed ASB Action Team. This team has been created to identify good practice and share those innovative ideas in taking action towards ASB. Over 300 ALMO’s, housing associations, voluntary housing agency, large housing groups and local authorities took part in the survey, reflecting the importance in sharing ideas, working with communities and tenants to overcome the challenges we face in society today.

At the CIH Housing Conference at Harrogate last week, I saw two brilliant examples of the effective and innovative work being carried out already – Glasgow Housing Association Community Initiative to Reduce Violence (CIRV), which helps tackle gang violence/knife crime in Glasgow’s East End, targeting 55 gangs and over 700 young men. and the Cobalt’s initiative ‘Making Waves’ aims to help turn the tide of crime and antisocial behaviour in the Croxteth area of Liverpool. Both share very strong messages and have tracked the successes of their programmes, for further information http://www.vicinity.org.uk and www.gha.org.uk

As we know, there are a wealth of ideas currently working to help tackle ASB and many more that will follow suit with the new ASB action team in place and multi-agency thinking; by working together, sharing ideas and embracing change to overcome challenges, I’m sure we will continue to see positive changes.  

For further information about the new ASB team visit www.cih.org/asbactionteam

Are you ready for the TSA’s changes in April?

Yes? No? Not sure? You are in good company. According to the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) 45% of the landlords they surveyed did not know what impact the TSA’s new framework would have on their organisation.  As their director, Richard Capie, commented, it’s a “fundamentally new approach to regulating social housing”.

CIH has already welcomed the introduction of TSA’s regulatory framework, in particular:

• The strong emphasis on tenant scrutiny, which will require providers to involve tenants in assessing their performance
•  The absence of any codes of practice or regulatory guidance notes, which will require providers to concentrate on achieving outcomes, not meeting overly prescriptive requirements;
• The emphasis on local standards, which will require providers to work with tenants to set standards based on local needs and priorities;
• The importance of sector-led improvement, which will require providers to learn from each other to drive improvement.

This all sounds exciting – but also a bit vague. Where do you start? How do you know if you are doing enough already?  If you are part of the 45% looking for answers, we recommend downloading HouseMark’s free report on the subject: “How to develop and monitor local performance measures; a guide for landlords and tenants”