Our commitment to managing diversity
 
As part of our commitment to managing diversity, Soho Housing Association condemns all forms of harassment. We do all we can to prevent harassment, take action against people who harass others and support tenants who are harassed.
 
Harassment is not the same as a neighbour dispute. Harassment is usually motivated by prejudice. Acts of harassment are nearly always carried out on purpose to cause suffering, are frequently premeditated, often racially motivated and are more likely to recur over a period of time. Harassment can include physical assault, damage to property, offensive graffiti, arson and threatening or abusive behaviour, letters or telephone calls.
 
What you can do
 
If you are being harassed let your Housing Officer know. We will give you an incident report form for you to fill in. This will help us take effective action.
 
Report incidents to the Police. They can take action against people who harass.
 
What we will do
 
If we accept that harassment has taken place your Housing Officer will visit you within 24 hours to find out more about what has happened.
 
Damage to your property will be repaired and offensive graffiti removed within 24 hours.
 
If you agree, action your Housing Officer will take will include:

• approaching the alleged harasser within 2 working days, to explain our policy and warn of action we will take if harassment continues.
• notifying the Police within 24 hours.
• interviewing other witnesses within 2 working days.
• arranging support for victims within 24 hours by making contact with statutory and voluntary agencies as appropriate.
• encouraging the Police to deal with the case if the alleged harasser is not our tenant.
• arranging a case conference within 5 working days for all staff and outside agencies involved with the Housing Management Co-ordinator to decide further course of action.

Within 24 hours of the case conference we will let you know what action we plan to take.
 
What we do will partially depend on what you want. But we will not always be able to do everything you want us to do. The action we take will depend on:

• how serious the attack(s) have been
• how the harassment is affecting you
• how effective we think a course of action will be - there’s no point going to court if we know we won’t win
• what evidence is available
• the resources available.

Some of the ways we can support you:

• provide additional security to your home
• try to find alternative accommodation with the council or another housing association
• put you in touch with other agencies that can provide you with advice and support
• offer you a transfer - this is only possible in the most serious cases where there have been physical assaults or a life endangering incident, or because of the harassment you are no longer able to live in your home. Although we will do our utmost, we will not always be able to offer you the transfer you want, when you want.

What we can do to deal with the harasser:

• visit and send warning letters. Sometimes this action alone will stop the harassment.
• take legal action. It is possible to take out injunctions. In extreme cases we can also go to court to repossess their home.

Legal Options
 
Possession Proceedings
 
Harassment is a breach of the tenancy agreement. We can evict a tenant if we can prove they have committed harassment. Proving harassment depends on having witnesses and sufficient evidence. To evict someone can take a long time.
 
Injunctions
 
Injunctions can be a quick, if temporary, solution to stop the actions of the harasser. They can be taken out by the person being harassed or by the Association. You need sufficient evidence and witnesses must be prepared to attend court and give evidence.
 
 
 

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