Managing Unacceptable Behaviour Policy

Title: Managing Unacceptable Behaviour Policy

Lead Officer: Jo Childs-Hill

Position: Head of Customer Experience

Department/section: Communities and Customer Service

Contact details: Jo.Childshill@homesinsomerset.org

Date: September 2026

To be reviewed: September 2029

1. Introduction

We aim to provide an excellent service to our tenants and work hard to ensure tenants feel heard and are respected. We recognise that sometimes tenants may be upset, frustrated or distressed when contacting us and will always seek to understand their circumstances and provide support.

The majority of our tenants engage positively and respectfully with our colleagues, however in a small number of cases tenants can act or communicate in a way that is considered unreasonable or unacceptable. This policy outlines the steps we will take to manage unacceptable or unreasonable behaviour to ensure our colleagues are able to do their roles safely and deliver a service to all.

This policy applies to anyone who has contact with our colleagues and contractors. It applies to all methods of contact including telephone, face-to-face, texts, letters, emails and social media.

2. Responsibilities

To ensure accountability and adherence, the following roles have direct responsibility for compliance with this policy as follows:

• Strategic Responsibility
• Director of Communities and Customer Service
• Operational Responsibility
• Head of Customer Experience

3. Policy Objectives

This policy aims to:

• Provide a fair, consistent and proportionate approach to managing unreasonable, unacceptable or abusive behaviour.
• Protect the wellbeing and safety of our colleagues, contractors and tenants while maintaining access to essential services.
• Ensure actions taken under this policy consider individual circumstances, vulnerabilities and reasonable adjustment needs and are subject to review and appeal.

4. Relevant Legislation or Regulation

• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985
• Housing Acts 1985 and 1996
• Equality Act 2010
• Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014
• Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code 2024
• Regulator of Social Housing Consumer Standards

5. Policy Details

What is Unreasonable Behaviour?

We recognise that behaviour is not unacceptable just because a tenant is assertive or determined. There may have been distressing circumstances leading up to a tenant contacting us and people may act out of character. Behaviour becomes unacceptable, if it is so demanding or persistent that it places unreasonable demands on us and impacts the level of service we can offer to others.

Specific Examples of Unreasonable Behaviour

Unreasonable demands

A demand becomes unreasonable where it starts to impact substantially on how we deliver our services.

Examples of this behaviour include:

• Requesting large volumes of information.
• Repeatedly asking for a response within an unreasonable timescale.
• Unreasonably refusing to speak to the appropriate colleague and repeatedly requesting to speak to another, in an attempt to change, delay or overturn decisions.
• Repeatedly requesting information that has already been provided.
• Unreasonable Persistence
• Unreasonably persistent behaviour occurs when a tenant repeatedly contacts us about the same issue after it has been fully considered, without presenting significant new information or grounds for review.
• Examples of this behaviour include:
• Refusing to accept an answer that has already been provided.
• Repeatedly contacting different colleagues in an attempt to obtain a different answer.
• Continuing to raise the same issue without providing any new evidence.
• Continuously adding to or changing the subject matter of a contact or a complaint.
• Pursuing the same issue across multiple channels simultaneously.

Unreasonable Levels of Contact

Unreasonable levels of contact occur when the frequency, volume or nature of a tenant’s contact has a disproportionate impact on our resources and our ability to deliver our services.

Examples of this behaviour include:

• Overloading colleagues with frequent or lengthy communications (letters, calls, emails or contact via social media).
• Making repeated telephone calls within a short period of time.
• Simultaneously contacting multiple colleagues about the same issue.
• Excessive use of social media or third parties to pursue the same issue.

Aggressive, Abusive or Violent Behaviour

Abusive, aggressive or violent behaviour is any action or conduct that causes our colleagues or contractors to feel threatened, intimidated, distressed or unsafe. We have a duty to protect our colleagues and take a zero-tolerance approach to this behaviour.

Examples of this behaviour include:

• Verbal abuse or offensive language.
• Personal insults, derogatory remarks or discriminatory comments.
• Harassment, intimidation or bullying.
• Abusive or inflammatory comments on social media directed at our colleagues or contractors.
• Recording colleagues without their consent in an attempt to intimidate or harass them.
• Threats of violence.
• Actual violence

Actions we will take

How we manage unacceptable or unreasonable behaviour will vary, depending on the nature and the impact it has on colleagues or our contractors. We will normally seek to resolve concerns informally before imposing restrictions, unless the behaviour is sufficiently serious to justify immediate action. We will explain the impact of the tenant’s behaviour on our colleagues, contractors or services, request they modify their behaviour and be clear that we may need to impose restrictions for future interactions if the behaviour continues.

In cases where we need to formally manage unreasonable behaviour, we will undertake a risk assessment and hold an internal panel to decide what steps to take. In making our decision, we will take into account:

• The impact the behaviour has had on our colleagues, contractors or tenants.
• Any known vulnerabilities which may directly impact the way in which the tenant communicates.
• Reasonable adjustment requests.

Examples of the measures we may implement include:

• Providing a single point of contact.
• Limiting contact to a single format, for example to writing, email or telephone only.
• Limiting the times the tenant can contact us, or the number of times each week or month.
• Declining to give any further consideration to an issue.
• Only considering a certain number of issues within a specific timeframe.
• Blocking a user from our social media channels.
• Terminating abusive telephone calls.
• Taking action against the tenant or their tenancy, in line with our Anti-Social Behaviour Policy.

Any restrictions imposed under this policy will be proportionate and will not prevent a tenant from accessing our essential services, reporting emergencies, making a valid complaint or exercising their legal rights.

Officer Safety Register

The welfare and safety of our colleagues and contractors is of paramount importance. Where an assessment of a tenant’s behaviour identifies an ongoing risk to safety, additional measures may be required. For example, we may determine that it is not safe for staff to visit the tenant alone or for the tenant to attend our offices.

In these circumstances, the tenant will be added to our Officer Safety Register and an appropriate flag will be placed on our internal system. We will also share information with our contractors to ensure they can work safely in the tenant’s home.
All cases recorded on the Officer Safety Register are formally reviewed every six months. A review may result in restrictions being removed, amended or remaining in place.

Decisions to add a tenant to the Officer Safety Register will be supported by a documented risk assessment.

Informing Tenants

Where it is safe and appropriate to do so, we will inform the tenant why a decision has been made to place them on our Officer Safety Register and/or impose contact restrictions. We will explain:

• Why the decision to restrict contact has been made.
• The restrictions being applied
• When the restrictions will be reviewed.
• How the tenant can appeal the decision.

Requesting a Review of our Decision

Tenants may request that we review:

• The sanctions imposed to manage their behaviour
• Inclusion on the Officer Safety Register

Such requests should be made to us within ten working days of the original decision. Tenants should outline why they feel we have been unreasonable and provide us with any supporting evidence.

We will review and respond to all appeal requests within a further ten working days.

Reasonable Adjustments

We will always consider a tenant’s individual circumstances when applying this policy, including any disability, mental health condition, vulnerability, communication need or other support requirement. Where appropriate, we will make reasonable adjustments to ensure that the tenant can access our services and communicate with us effectively.

Reasonable adjustments may include:

• Using alternative methods of communication.
• Providing a single point of contact.
• Supplying information in accessible or alternative formats.
• Allowing additional time to engage with services or respond to requests where appropriate.

In applying this policy, we will consider any relevant vulnerabilities, disabilities or support needs or other relevant circumstances to ensure our response is fair, reasonable and proportionate.

We will also consider whether the behaviour may indicate an underlying issue requiring support, assessment or referral. This may include, but is not limited to mental health concerns, domestic abuse, safeguarding risks, substance misuse or other vulnerability factors. Where appropriate, we will take steps to ensure these issues are addressed through relevant support, assessment or referral processes.

Communication of the Policy

We will ensure that the policy is made available to our tenants on our websites and in other formats if requested.

All front-line colleagues will receive training on the policy and associated procedures.

Complaints

A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction about our service, actions, or lack of action that affects a tenant. We are committed to handling complaints in line with the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code.

All complaints about our approach to managing tenant behaviour or the application of this policy will be investigated in line with our Complaints and Customer Feedback Policy.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Impact

We are committed to working in a way that treats people equitably, celebrates diversity, and promotes inclusivity – because we believe this builds a better society for all. We believe this approach will help our leaders make good decisions; enable us to serve our tenants better; ensure we are a great employer and shape the way we engage with our communities. This approach will also help us to meet the legislative requirements under the Equality Act 2010, including our Public Sector Equality Duty.

We may adapt our approach or provision to ensure that services are accessible to people with a protected characteristic (as defined by the Equality Act 2010) as well as everybody else. This will be in line with our Customer Support and Reasonable Adjustments Policy.

We will be consistent in our approach managing behaviour and treat all tenants who access our service in a fair and transparent manner allowing for reasonable adjustments as necessary. We will offer appropriate support to all tenants and consider any sensitive or special needs. Consideration will be given to sign-posting tenants to suitable agencies for additional support and guidance.

Where necessary, additional support will be provided, such as translation of documents or the use of language line for example.

Monitoring Performance Metrics (what is measured to demonstrate adherence)

Monthly monitoring of the Officer Safety Register including:

• Number of tenants on the register
• Number of reviews taken place during the month.
• Number of tenants removed and added.

Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed every three years or sooner if there are changes to regulation or legislation.

Associated Policies and Procedures

• Customer Complaints and Feedback Policy
• Tenant Support and Reasonable Adjustments Policy
• Anti-Social Behaviour Policy
• Safeguarding Policy
• Domestic Abuse Policy
• Tenancy Policy
• Tenancy Agreement