Time to Talk about Anti-Social Behaviour, Says SFHA

The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) has welcomed today's announcement (Monday 6th February) that the Scottish Government is to consult on giving housing associations and councils more tools to tackle anti-social behaviour (1).

Radical changes are being proposed to the way 600,000 houses in the social rented sector are allocated and managed.

Mary Taylor, Chief Executive of the SFHA said:

"The aim of housing associations and co-operatives is to create and maintain safe, sustainable and happy communities, where tenants can have confidence that unacceptable behaviour is not a regular occurrence.

"Anti-social behaviour by a small minority can blight communities and make life miserable for other tenants, and social landlords need the tools to be able to deal with this.

"However, we must bear in mind that we have a responsibility to house people and that is why eviction is always a last resort for housing associations.

Dr Taylor continued:

"We particularly welcome the proposed changes around allocations will allow greater flexibility, a better reflection of housing need and give local communities more of a say in who is being housed.

"The SFHA has already set up half-day focus groups all over Scotland (2) for members to discuss the implications of these proposals, such as the proposals for short secured tenancies, and these will inform our response to the consultation."

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For further information, contact Claire Munro on t: 0141 567 6244 m: 07771926778 or e: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Visit our website at www.sfha.co.uk
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NOTES:

1) The Scottish Government consultation which will run for 12 weeks, is available on the Scottish Government website at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2012/02/9972
2) The focus groups will be held in the Highlands, central belt and Borders. See our website for further details.

3) The SFHA was established in 1975 and has around 170 members providing affordable housing and wider community services in Scotland, as well as a further 200 commercial members. The SFHA is owned by its membership and exists to support the work of housing associations and co-operatives in Scotland by providing services, advice and good practice guidance.

4) The SFHA is the voice of the principal builders and managers of new affordable housing for rent in Scotland. Housing Associations own and manage around 40% of the country's affordable rented housing stock, over a quarter of a million homes across Scotland.

5) Housing associations and co-operatives are not-for-profit bodies regulated by the Scottish Housing Regulator.

 

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