Introduction

Acknowledgements

Crown Copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland.

Introduction to Subject

Personal Safety is something you may rarely think about while you are working, and you may not consider you are particularly at risk whilst carrying out the day to day activities of a landlord. Fortunately attacks are rare: in particular violent crimes by strangers in public places account for a very small part of recorded crime.

However, you are dealing with people on the sensitive issue of their homes. As a landlord, you may well work alone, you may carry money when collecting rents and indeed you may encounter tenants or neighbours under the influence of drink and drugs. All these factors could increase your chances of experiencing some form of aggression or other threats to your safety.

Many potential risks can be reduced by taking a few sensible precautions. Many are common sense, and may be things you already do. But there may be some things you haven't considered.

Plan in advance how you might react in different situations before you are in them. Is it sensible to risk injury in a situation, or would it be wiser give an attacker what they want, to avoid being hurt? There may not be time for lots of thought if there is the potential for violence.

Another important consideration is how you could prevent a confrontational situation turning into violent one. How you speak to people and your actions towards them will affect how they act towards you. Consider that some types of behaviour could make a situation worse. Try find out WHY someone is angry - much anger is rooted in frustration, fear or confusion - and what you can do to calm them down.

Learning to control your own tension can be a very useful skill, as well as recognising the signs of someone else becoming aggressive or violent.