Our promise to you

Our customer promise
When you need us, we want you to know what to expect.

This promise explains how we'll support you, your home and your neighbourhood. It also explains how we can work well together, so we can get things right and make a real difference.

We know trust is built by what we do every day. So we'll be clear with you, keep you updated and do what we say we'll do. We'll do our part, and we'll support you to do yours.

Repairs

When something needs fixing, we'll do our best to put it right as quickly as we can. You can help us by reporting repairs as soon as you can and letting us into your home when we have an appointment.

We'll attend emergency repairs within 24 hours to make things safe.

For urgent repairs, we'll aim to complete them within 5 working days.

We'll complete routine repairs within 20 working days.

We'll try to fix the repair on our first visit. If we need to come back, we'll explain why and arrange the next appointment while we're with you.

If you need extra support, or need us to do things in a different way, please tell us. We'll work with you.

We regularly check completed work to ensure it meets our standards.

Incommunities staff speaking with a customer

Keeping you safe

Your safety matters to us. We'll carry out checks and take action where there may be a risk to you, your home or the building where you live. Some safety checks are a legal requirement, so please help us keep you safe by giving us access when we need it.

We will carry out a gas safety check every year.

We will complete an electrical safety test at least every 5 years and when a home is re-let.

We carry out fire risk assessments:

every year in high-rise and sheltered housing
every 3 or 5 years in other communal buildings

We will carry out annual asbestos checks in communal areas.

We will investigate emergency health and safety issues within 24 hours and make them safe.

We will investigate significant damp and mould cases within 10 working days and provide a written summary within 3 working days.

Where a serious risk is identified:

we will make it safe within 5 working days
and complete any further work within 5 working days, or up to 12 weeks if more complex

Moving into your new home

We want your home to feel safe and ready when you move in. We'll help you settle in, and we'll ask you to work with us by telling us early if you need support.

Your new home will meet these standards when you move in. It will be clean, safe, secure, free from hazards and in good repair.

When you start your tenancy, we will provide:

a welcome booklet full of helpful information
a welcome pack
essential items to help you settle in

Your Neighbourhood Officer will contact you within 6 weeks.

Incommunities customer outside her new home

Your neighbourhood and tenancy

We want you to feel safe and respected where you live. You can help by being considerate to your neighbours, looking after shared spaces and telling us when something is wrong.

Anti-social behaviour

We will respond to urgent cases within 1 working day, including domestic abuse, violence and hate crime.

We will respond to all other cases within 5 working days.

We'll listen, agree next steps with you and keep in contact throughout. Please give us as much information as you can, so we can understand what has happened and support you in the right way.

We will work with partners such as the police where appropriate.

Your neighbourhood

We will carry out neighbourhood inspections every 3 months.

We will invite customers to join us at least once a year.

We will publish neighbourhood plans and report on progress.

We will work with local partners to improve your area.

We'll aim to answer your query the first time you contact us. If we can't, we'll explain what will happen next, give you a clear timescale and make sure someone takes ownership.

If something has gone wrong, please tell us. We'll listen, look into it properly and respond in line with our complaints process. If you are still unhappy, we'll explain how to contact the Housing Ombudsman.

Grounds maintenance and communal areas

We'll look after shared spaces and keep them as clean, safe and welcoming as we can. You can help by using shared areas with care and reporting issues such as fly-tipping or damage when you see them.

We will clean communal areas regularly, weekly, fortnightly or monthly depending on the service.

We will:

cut grass 12 times between April and October
cut hedges 4 times a year
maintain shrub beds regularly

We will remove small fly-tipping within 7 days.

We will inspect and maintain play areas weekly and make unsafe equipment safe.

Incommunities staff cutting grass

When you contact us

We want it to be easy for you to get the help you need. Please give us the information we need, so we can understand your query and get back to you with the right answer.

We will aim to resolve your query the first time you contact us.

If we cannot, we will:

give you a clear timescale
keep you updated
make sure someone takes ownership

We will respond to emails within 3 working days.

Let us know if something is wrong

If something has gone wrong, please tell us. We want the chance to put it right and learn from it. The more you can tell us about what happened, the easier it is for us to look into it properly.

When you make a complaint:

We will acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days.

Stage 1: we will respond within 10 working days, with extensions up to a maximum of 10 working days.

Stage 2: we will respond within 20 working days, with extensions up to a maximum of 20 working days.

If you are still not satisfied, we will explain how to contact the Housing Ombudsman.

Incommunities staff speaking with a customer