Neighbourhood Management Policy

We aim to put customers at the heart of their neighbourhoods by 
encouraging customer involvement and consultation on neighbourhood management and we have consulted with customers through our customer engagement framework in the development of this policy. 

Consultation on this policy has also taken place with key internal and 
external stakeholders including YHG’s Housing Management Teams, 
Asset Management Team, Grounds Maintenance Team and YHG 
solicitors.  

This policy is linked to the Neighbourhood and Community Standard. 

The Neighbourhood and Community Standard states that “Registered providers must work co-operatively with tenants, other landlords and relevant organisations to take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of shared spaces” and “co-operate with relevant partners to promote social, environmental and economic wellbeing in the areas where they provide social housing.

To improve and maintain high standards in the areas YHG operate we consider neighbourhood management as a partnership between YHG, customers and other partners working or operating in our neighbourhoods.  

Effective engagement is fundamental to a positive relationship with our customers. YHG’s Customer & Community Strategy and Customer Connect Framework set out how we will work with our customers, colleagues and external stakeholders to: 

• Deliver services in the right way, tailored to customer need and preference
• Listen to customers’ views and feedback
• Connect and empower customers through meaningful  engagement. 

Customers will be offered a range of opportunities to become involved in decision making about service delivery improvements and their own tenancy. They will be consulted and provided with regular communication and feedback through newsletters, leaflets, letters and personal contact. Customer engagement and involvement in accordance with this policy will lead to more sustained improvements in services, schemes and the local neighbourhood environment. 

In achieving the aims and objectives of the Tenancy Standard (and any subsequent consumer standard to replace this), consultation on this Policy has taken place with: 

• Neighbourhood management
• Communal inspections
• Environmental Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB)
• Grounds maintenance
• Communal cleaning (including window cleaning)
• Playgrounds
• Tree management
• Snow clearance and gritting
• Waste Management including fly tipping. 

Neighbourhood Management

Our approach to dealing with neighbourhood management issues includes but is not limited to:

Abandoned vehicles

All vehicles on communal or other land owned by YHG, aside from 
individual properties with off road parking, must be taxed and in a road worthy condition or registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) as off road through the Statutory Off Road Notice (SORN).  

YHG considers any vehicle which does not meet these requirements to be causing a nuisance, and as such action will be taken to remove in accordance with YHG procedures. 

Graffiti removal

Graffiti impacts negatively on the aesthetic appeal and appearance of our neighbourhoods. Graffiti reported and identified will be removed in line with YHG’s Neighbourhood Management Service Standard, along with the reporting of criminal damage to the police where applicable.

Garden condition

Untidy and overgrown gardens can negatively impact upon the appeal of neighbourhoods and can also be an indicator to poor property condition. Following identification of this breach of tenancy, should the customer fail to rectify the issue, action may be taken in line with the tenancy agreement and in conjunction with YHG’s Anti-Social Behaviour and Hate Crime Policy.

YHG will offer sign-posting support where unacceptable garden condition is due to customer disability or other additional needs/ vulnerabilities. 

Garden sites and parking areas

All garage sites and parking areas, not including driveways to individual properties, will be maintained by YHG as required. 
The purpose of garage sites and parking areas is for the storage of motor vehicles. Garage sites and parking areas must not be used for the repairing or fixing of vehicles without prior permission from YHG. No trailer, caravan or boat should be stored in parking areas or on garage sites. 

All customers and garage licensees must adhere to the obligations set down in their respective agreements relating to driveways, garage sites and parking areas. Where a tenant, leaseholder or licensee fails to meet any of these obligations, appropriate action will be taken to encourage them to adhere to the conditions of their agreement. Continual failure to meet their responsibilities will be viewed as a breach of the agreement and all avenues will be explored to resolve the breach including the use of legal remedies. 

Where parking areas are provided, we will work with customers to ensure that they are considerately used. 

Communal areas and communal inspections

Customers who pass through an internal communal area to access their home or have use of an external communal area shall be responsible for ensuring that they, their visitors and household members abide by their agreement conditions.
 
Customers must ensure that no items are left in the communal area and that no rubbish or litter is deposited. Customers and their visitors must also not interfere with or cause damage to any door entry system, security or safety equipment. Furthermore, customers and their visitors must not damage or vandalise any features of communal areas. 

Due to potential dangers of obstructing access or means of escape in the event of a fire, we will operate a zero-tolerance approach to items left in a communal area. If any high-risk items (e.g. mobility scooter, motorcycle, moped, e-bicycle or any machinery having a petrol or diesel engine) are found, the customer who owns the items will be contacted and asked to remove the item immediately. Failure to do so would be a breach of Agreement and would be treated as a serious risk to other customers. All 
breaches will be investigated in conjunction with other relevant YHG Policies and Procedures. 

YHG retains the right to remove items left or placed in communal areas, including personal objects such as pot plants and ornaments on window ledges.

All YHG colleagues have a duty in the course of their day to day work to note any repairs or maintenance requirements identified both within a communal area, scheme or neighbourhood, particularly those which pose a threat to health and safety and report these promptly.

A programme of robust neighbourhood, scheme and communal inspections will be undertaken by YHG colleagues to ensure that they are safe, clean and well maintained. Inspections will involve customers as appropriate.

Environmental ASB

Environmental ASB affects YHG’s ability to maintain and improve our neighbourhoods. We aim to minimise the incidents of environmental ASB and respond promptly when incidents are identified. Environmental ASB covers a variety of acts such as: 

• Vandalism
• Graffiti 
• Fly tipping
• Fly posting
• Littering 

YHG will investigate all instances of environmental ASB and work with partner agencies to identify the offender and take the appropriate enforcement action in conjunction with YHG’s Anti-Social Behaviour and Hate Crime Policy. YHG will encourage customers who witness environmental ASB to report it to ourselves and any other relevant organisation such as the Police or Environmental Health.

YHG will undertake any appropriate task to rectify the result of 
environmental ASB, which is not the responsibility of a customer. 
Customers are responsible for making good or paying for damage caused by deliberate acts of vandalism or any results caused by environmental ASB by themselves, any member of their household or visitors. 

Grounds maintenance 

YHG will ensure that our communal grounds look clean and tidy, 
hedges/shrubs cut back and grass maintained. This will include: 

• Cutting the grass and mulching the cuttings (minimum of 13 visits between April and October)
• Grass edging
• Trimming and shaping shrubs and hedges (generally twice per year, but species dependant) first cut between March and October and second cut between October and February
• Clearing litter
• Herbicide Application to Hardstanding and Beds
• Leaf Clearance
• Weed Treatment

YHG will not maintain grass, shrubs or hedges in adopted, private or individual gardens. This will be the responsibility of the customer as detailed in their tenancy/licence/leasehold agreement (where 
applicable).

YHG will provide support via signposting to local agencies for those customers who are unable to maintain their gardens. Between cuts, the grounds maintenance team will remove any shrub, hedges or vegetation that is causing an obstruction. 

Communal cleaning (including window cleaning) 

YHG will ensure that internal communal areas are cleaned on a 
frequency and standard based upon the management requirements for each site.

YHG will ensure that customers are consulted over the cleaning services provided and included in their service charge.

Customers are required to keep communal areas free of personal items and nothing should be stored in communal areas, including cupboards with shared access. These items can cause fire hazards, restrict escape routes and impede our colleagues and contractors delivering this service.  

Window cleaning

YHG will ensure that communal windows are cleaned on a frequency based upon the management requirements for each site.

YHG will only clean windows of individual customers properties where there is a contractual obligation to do so. Otherwise, this will be the responsibility of the customer as detailed in their 
tenancy/licence/leasehold agreement (where applicable).  

YHG will ensure that customers are consulted about the window cleaning services provided and included in their service charge.

Playgrounds

YHG will ensure that playgrounds are managed and maintained as safe places for customers within our neighbourhoods and for the benefit of all users. 

YHG will inspect these as per recommended guidance and legislation, and on a frequency based upon the management requirements for each site. 

Tree management

In accordance with our Tree Policy, YHG will ensure that all trees and woodlands on YHG owned communal areas and estates are managed and maintained through a proactive and risk-based approach.

YHG will survey all tree stock using an asset management approach in line with The National Tree Safety Group’s Guidance and maintain a geodatabase of these assets.

YHG will ensure that all arboriculture works will be carried out, in accordance with good arboriculture practice.
 
YHG will maintain our trees and woodlands in a safe and sustainable way, whilst developing and increasing biodiversity and seasonal character in our trees for the benefit of wildlife, customers and visitors. 

YHG will not maintain trees in private or individual gardens. This will be the responsibility of the customer as detailed in their 
tenancy/licence/leasehold agreement (where applicable). YHG will not maintain or fell trees to:

• Deter birds roosting
• Prevent wind-blown pollen, blossoms, petals, seeds or leaves
• Abate falling fruit, berries, nuts or sap
• Improve access to natural daylight or for aesthetic views
• Remove arboreal insects
• Improve television reception to non-communal systems. 

YHG will inform or consult customers about tree works planned or 
required in communal areas. 

Snow clearance and gritting

YHG will clear snow and spread grit or salt to designated footpaths on some prioritised schemes, for example, Older Persons Schemes, and on a frequency based upon the management requirements for each site.

YHG will provide, and replenish, grit bins to prioritised schemes where a high proportion of customers are affected, or are likely to be affected, by impaired mobility and vulnerability.

YHG cannot guarantee that every footpath, or designated footpaths, will be ice-free at all times, even in priority schemes. It is the responsibility of all customers, their visitors and colleagues to take appropriate care in poor weather conditions.

YHG will not clear snow and spread grit to roadways, parking areas, footpaths to dwellings or spread grit as a precautionary measure. 

Waste management including fly-tipping

YHG are responsible for addressing litter and fly-tipping within the 
boundaries of the land that we own and will arrange clearance 
accordingly. We will maintain communal bin stores and chutes.

Fly tipping is defined in YHG’s Neighbourhood Management Service Standard as: 

• Fly-tipping is the illegal dumping of rubbish or waste on Your Housing Group (YHG) land. This includes, for example, items like cardboard, mattresses, furniture, carpets, and bags of rubbish. YHG takes incidents very seriously. 

Customers will be notified at the start of their Agreement of arrangements for the removal and recycling of refuse and bulk items.

Customers are expected to take all reasonable care to ensure that their household rubbish is properly stored, recycled and disposed of appropriately. Refuse must be adequately bagged and stored until collection in bin stores or other designated areas. Customers are also responsible for making arrangements for the disposal of large items such as household furniture and must comply with the local arrangements for the collection of refuse. 

YHG will work in partnership with our Local Authority partners to 
encourage our residents to recycle their household waste. YHG will, where possible, provide locations for the positioning of recycling facilities. Where a customer is unable to manage their household waste, we will work with the Local Authority to provide the necessary support and assistance.

The management of fly tipping will be included in the Grounds 
Maintenance service fly tipping will be assessed on a case by case basis and where we can identify the perpetrator, we may look to recover the cost.

Responsibility for the execution of this policy rests with all colleagues and contractors working on behalf of YHG, whether that work is paid or voluntary. This includes: 

• Your Housing Group colleagues 
• Agency colleagues
• Managing agents
• Contract colleagues – when working under contract to the Group e.g. contractors working in Your Housing Group owned or managed homes
• Volunteers – when working by agreement for or on behalf of the Group
• Third parties who are engaged in providing a service at the request of YHG. 
  (This list is not exhaustive) 

Failure to comply with these obligations may result in disciplinary action in accordance with the Your Housing Group Disciplinary Procedures. 

YHG’s Business Plan reflects that maintenance of communal open space owned by YHG is a key landlord responsibility in line with the Social Housing Regulation Act 2023 and Building Safety Act 2022. YHG will ensure that estate services are managed proactively to meet statutory safety obligations and consumer standards. YHG will mitigate against business risk and regulatory risk through managing estate services to internal and external communal areas in an efficient, effective and economic manner prioritising compliance with Awaab’s Law 2025.

Risk here is not just risk to the business – the first and most crucial risk is that to the safety of residents and the general public. YHG will adopt a proactive, risk-based approach to communal area  management, ensuring hazards such as fire risks, damp and mould, and structural safety are identified and addressed promptly. We will follow best practice guidance from the Regulator of Social Housing and the Housing Ombudsman, including robust inspection regimes, clear tenant communication, and partnership working with local authorities and emergency services to safeguard communities. 

We will adopt the above approach to reduce reputational risk to the business. 

YHG recognises that confidentiality is important to customers and will treat all information relevant to each customer in the strictest confidence, as will all contractors, under the Data Protection Act 2018, including UK GDPR and the Data Use and Access Act 2025.

YHG’s Data Protection Policy will also be adhered to in following this policy. We will share information securely to support external agencies and partners as required. 

This policy meets the requirements of the equality impact assessment and is fully compliant with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010. 

We are committed to promoting fairness, transparency, and inclusion. This means that we will not discriminate against customers on the grounds of their age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity status, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation. 

In addition, YHG will make reasonable adjustments for customers with disabilities or vulnerabilities, ensure accessibility of services and communications, and proactively engage with diverse communities to remove barriers. We will embed inclusive practices across neighbourhood management, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and best practice guidance from the Regulator of Social 
Housing and the Housing Ombudsman. 

This policy will be available to all YHG colleagues on our internal intranet and will be communicated to all teams involved in the provision of Neighbourhood Management services.

The policy will also be made available on our external website for easy access for customers and our partners. 

YHG is committed to putting arrangements in place that ensure effective training of all colleagues.  

This policy and the procedures that support it will be the subject of a 
mixed platform of training across YHG and include all stakeholders. This training will be bespoke to the individual stakeholders and include:

• Team Briefings, for those who need to be aware of it but not 
  actively involved in the delivery
• On the job training, for those who need to use the procedures in 
  their daily roles
• Regular Tool Box refreshers, for those using the procedures.

We will measure and monitor our performance using a comprehensive approach aligned with regulatory requirements and best practice. This 
includes:

• Compliments, feedback and complaints we receive
• Our internal Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
• Regular Customer Satisfaction Surveys
• Report on Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSM’s) 

YHG will review this policy every 2 years, or earlier if required by statutory, regulatory, legislative or best practice requirements or the need to update this policy following reviews of other Group wide policies or improvements identified by service reviews, scrutiny or feedback from customers.

This Policy will be reviewed by the Head of Housing.