For the government’s new Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan to be as successful as possible, new Housing Courts are needed to ensure that action can be taken quickly, argues a new cross-party parliamentary report backed by West Midlands Mayor Andy Street and the region’s police and crime commissioner Simon Foster.

The pair have joined calls, backed by Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs from across the country, for the government to pilot the use of a Housing Court in the West Midlands.  The report by the All Party-Parliamentary Group on Anti-Social Behaviour, originally convened by housing association Midland Heart, also recommends that housing associations are given statutory powers as core partners in making our communities safer and that ASB is included in the Victim’s Bill.

The report, led by Baroness Newlove, is also backed by over 20 other police crime commissioners from Durham to Surrey, the country’s leading Anti-Social Behaviour charities Resolve and ASB Help and several leading academics as well as tenants from some of the region’s largest social landlords.

The idea of dedicated Housing Courts is not a new one, and the government has previously consulted on the introduction of Housing Courts but no housing courts have yet been formed.

As it stands, victims of ASB can expect to wait several months, and in many cases up to a year, before securing a court date, and once in court, the case must compete for a judge’s time with other civil work that does not fall into any other specialist or priority areas. All the while, the victim is often still experiencing anti-social behaviour and living close proximity to the perpetrators they have had the bravery to report.

Mr Street and Mr Foster both believe that a housing court pilot will give communities in the region more confidence that just and proportionate action will be taken in a timely manner when peace and order breaks down.

A specialist housing court could offer faster redress and relief for victims of ASB and swifter intervention to change the behaviour of perpetrators. Specialist courts also offer the possibility of judges trained with specific knowledge of tenancy and housing related law, able to reach decisions that reflect the complexity of the legal structures.

Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, commented: “In order to effectively tackle anti-social behaviour in our communities, more decisive action needs to be taken to provide faster redress and relief for victims.

“In many cases, victims who have taken the brave step to report ASB are being met with significant delays and a continuation of the behaviour that is impacting their lives, facing long waits for their cases to be heard in court.  I want communities in the West Midlands to be the first to benefit from a dedicated housing court that will see issues that make our neighbourhoods less desirable places to live tackled quicker.

“Housing Courts have the potential to provide swifter justice for victims, and an opportunity to develop professionals trained in housing and tenancy law, equipped with the appropriate legal knowledge and mechanisms to find the right solutions to make our communities even safer and more sustainable.”

 Mr Foster is also recommending that ‘problem solving courts’ are introduced as another way to address ASB and divert perpetrators away from custodial outcomes. This follows the successful pilot of a problem-solving court in the West Midlands, endorsed by Foster and introduced to provide additional support for female offenders who may be suffering from mental health, drink and drug related issues among others.

West Midlands police and crime commissioner, Simon Foster, added: “I am of the firm belief that to prevent, tackle, reduce and truly end the cycle of harm caused by anti-social behaviour, we must address the underlying drivers of this behaviour. These include poor mental health, addictions, undiagnosed learning difficulties, family support needs and so on. Integrated multi-agency working – conceived to address co-occurring needs simultaneously – is central to this.”

 Glenn Harris, chief executive of Midland Heart, who convened the APPG on anti-social behaviour added: “Everyone should feel safe in their home but far too many people can’t due to the actions of a mindless few.  Our tenants have told us that they want more to be done to stop ASB in their neighbourhoods and that those responsible need to be held account quicker, some of our tenants who have bravely stood up to those making others’ lives a misery have had to live with the problem, often worsening, for a year before the issue can be heard by a court.

“That is why Midland Heart formed the APPG and asked parliamentarians, police and crime commissioners, the Mayor and charities such as Resolve and ASBHelp to help us come up with ways to make our communities even safer. Alongside asking the government to consider a Housing Court pilot in the region we are also asking for housing associations like us to be given statutory status so that we can take action independently in support of our tenants.”