Resident guidance: All residents - Last updated: 17 March 2026

Unacceptable behaviour

At Anchor, we expect colleagues and people that work on our behalf to be treated with courtesy and respect and we will not tolerate behaviour that is threatening, abusive or aggressive. In return, colleagues will always treat residents and visitors to our locations and offices with the same respect and courtesy.

This page outlines what resident behaviours we consider to be unacceptable and the action we will take to manage such behaviour to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our colleagues and agents.

In this guidance you will find:

What is unacceptable behaviour?
How does Anchor deal with reports of alleged unacceptable behaviour?

What is unacceptable behaviour?

Examples of unacceptable behaviour can be written, verbal or expressed through body language. They are actions that result in unreasonable demands on, or behaviour towards our colleagues or agents.

We will not view behaviour as unacceptable just because someone is assertive or determined.

We also understand that people may act out of character in times of distress or worry or because of an undiagnosed infection. Context is important in situations but it does not mean that a resident’s behaviour should automatically be considered ok.

We consider the following behaviour as unacceptable:

Physical violence
Threats
Personal abuse
Swearing or offensive language
Derogatory or discriminatory remarks/ language: regarding age, ethnicity, culture, gender, disability, or sexual orientation (hate incidents)
Being unreasonably demanding or having unreasonable expectations, such as, ringing frequently to raise points already addressed fully, sending voluminous repetitive or irrelevant emails or letters
Unreasonably persistent behaviour - we see this to be demands that impact substantially on our work through the amount of information a resident requests or provides or the nature and scale of the service they expect
Unsubstantiated inflammatory allegations. In extreme cases, such as physical violence or harassment towards a colleague or agent, we will take actions against the resident.

How does Anchor deal with reports of alleged unacceptable behaviour?

We will always take appropriate action to manage unacceptable behaviour and ensure the safety and wellbeing of our colleagues and agents.

When dealing with alleged unacceptable behaviour from a resident, we will always seek to talk or meet with the resident. This is an opportunity to understand the resident’s viewpoint, seek a voluntary agreement on how to manage their behaviour in the future and for the resident to acknowledge this plan or apologise (if appropriate). 

This agreement may include setting timeframes in which we will check to ensure further unacceptable behaviour doesn’t arise. 

As part of the plan we create, we will consider the following options: 

Anti-social behaviour - whether any other action needs to be taken in line with the Anti-Social Behaviour Policy. Learn more about how we handle anti-social behaviour here.
Reducing contact - this may happen when we receive large volumes of contact or complaints or where a resident persistently raises the same points despite them been answered fully.
Terminating contact - in exceptional circumstances and only as a last resort, we may refuse certain direct contact with individuals who are unreasonably persistent or abusive. Full consideration will always be given as to how we will provide our services going forward. Residents will still be able access core services like reporting a repair. We will also provide a process to allow appeals to a decision and specify a timeframe in which this will happen.
Legal action - in extreme cases we may take legal action against a resident for example, contacting the Police, taking out an injunction or seeking to end the tenancy/lease.

The plan will set a review period for the resident to demonstrate a change in their behaviour. However, the resident can appeal against the decisions made at any point and cases will be reviewed by an independent colleague.

During this process we will handle any complaints or issues raised by the resident separately to the unacceptable behaviour. All complaints will be responded to and investigated fully.