Social Landlord Service: Additional Support Policy

4.1. Regulator of Social Housing - Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard 2024

This requires social housing landlords to:

• treat all tenants with fairness and respect
• foster a strong culture throughout the organisation of fairness, courtesy and respect, where tenants are listened to; can trust their landlord and adapt services and communications to meet individual tenants needs
• hold robust information about tenants to support the delivery of fair and equitable outcomes for tenants
• consider the diverse needs of their tenants (and prospective tenants, where relevant)
• make tenants aware of the different ways in which services are tailored to meet their needs
• deliver an effective, simple and accessible process to enable tenants and prospective tenants to nominate a representative to act on their behalf in interactions with their landlord about landlord service
• deliver effective communication with tenants and the provision of clear and accessible information is at the heart of an effective tenant/landlord relationship

4.2. Human Rights Act 1998

All public authorities, or bodies exercising public functions (which includes the Council for certain services) must adhere to the Human Rights Act 1998. The most relevant aspects of the Human Rights  legislation are:

• right to respect for private life, family life and the home
• prohibition of discrimination

The key things for the Council to consider are whether actions are legally, fairly, transparently and proportionately in line with its policies. It is important, however, to avoid applying blanket policies. The Council must allow individual circumstances to be taken into account in decision-making, particularly in relation to additional support needs. The ability to take account of individual circumstances will be an important consideration in undertaking impact assessments, when developing or reviewing strategies, policies, procedures or functions.

4.3.Pre-Action Protocol for Possession Claims by Social Landlords (2020)

The protocol sets out the requirements that a Registered Provider of Social Housing must have either considered or complied with in relation to possession proceedings. The aims of the protocol are to:

• encourage more pre-action contact and exchange of information between landlords and tenants
• enable the parties to avoid litigation by settling the matter if possible before court action is taken
• enable court time to be used more effectively if proceedings are necessary

4.3.1. Courts will take into account whether the protocol has been followed when considering what orders to make. Part 1 of the protocol requires the Council to consider the additional support needs of the tenant prior to the commencement of proceedings. If aware the tenant has difficult reading or understanding information, reasonable steps must be taken to ensure that communication is undertaken appropriately so that the tenant understands any information provided.

4.3.2. Where a tenant requires additional support, the Council need to consider at an early stage whether or not:

• a person has mental capacity to understand and defend the proceedings
• any issues are likely to arise under the Equality Act 2010 and ensure all reasonable adjustments are considered

4.4.Data Protection Act (1998, as amended)

Governs the protection of personal data. It is not a barrier to sharing information but provides a framework to ensure that personal information about a person is shared appropriately. This will particularly apply if the Council are sharing information with support providers in relation to a person's additional support need.

4.5.Equality Act 2010

The Equality Act protects persons from discrimination and ensures public authorities considers the need to remove or reduce disadvantages suffered by people because of a protected characteristic. It also ensures the needs of people with protected characteristics are met and encourage people with protected characteristics to participate in public life and other activities.