Communal Inspector

Communal Inspector

Salary: £35,557 + Excellent benefits
Location: Across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and surrounding counties, Office location Asheridge Road - Chesham.
Hybrid working: Field-based role across our geographical portfolio
Contract: Permanent
Hours: 37 hours

Are you looking to join a growing, values-led organisation with a clear social purpose?

At Lifestone Homes, we’re proud to be the largest housing group in the region, managing over 30,000 homes across Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, and Hertfordshire.

Everything we do is about delivering excellent services, high quality homes, neighbourhoods we can be proud of and maximising number of new affordable homes we build. Through our merger we’ve brought together shared values, skills and ambition, so we can build more affordable homes and make an even bigger difference in the communities we serve

If you're ready to grow your career in a supportive, inclusive environment while helping to shape stronger communities, we’d love to welcome you on our journey. Together, we’re building a better future.

About the Role

We're looking for a proactive and detail-focused Communal Inspector to join our team and play a key role in maintaining safe, clean and compliant neighbourhoods across our housing portfolio.

Working across a large and geographically dispersed portfolio, you'll monitor estate standards, carry out communal inspections and work closely with colleagues, contractors and residents to ensure our estates meet required service and compliance standards. You'll help identify issues, drive improvements and support resident satisfaction by ensuring communal spaces are safe, well maintained and fit for purpose.

As part of the Property Services team, you'll act as a critical friend to Estate Services, helping to monitor contractor performance, identify risks and support continuous improvement across our communities.

About You

You're someone who takes pride in high standards and enjoys being out on site making a visible difference to neighbourhoods and communities.

You'll have experience carrying out inspections and assessing standards, with the confidence to identify issues, make sound decisions and escalate concerns where appropriate. You build positive working relationships with residents, contractors and colleagues, and can communicate clearly and professionally, even in challenging situations.

You'll be comfortable working independently, using technology to record findings and manage actions, while maintaining a strong focus on health and safety, compliance and customer service.

• Carry out cyclical inspections of communal areas, buildings and amenity land.

• Monitor grounds maintenance, cleaning and other estate service contracts, ensuring agreed standards are met.

• Raise communal repairs, fly-tipping issues and environmental concerns through the appropriate systems.

• Conduct routine testing of communal safety equipment, including fire panels, smoke detectors, lift alarms and AOV systems.

• Record inspection outcomes and actions using internal IT systems.

• Assess estates against agreed standards for cleanliness, grounds maintenance, waste management, communal repairs and environmental quality.

• Manage the TORT process for communal areas and work with Neighbourhood teams to address recurring issues.

• Identify and escalate fire safety concerns, blocked escape routes, unauthorised storage, defective fire doors and other hazards.

• Support Estate Services with complaint investigations and provide evidence-based reports and updates.

• Ensure fire door inspections and water testing requirements are completed in line with legislation and organisational procedures.

• Identify, record and escalate health and safety risks within communal areas.

• Ensure communal spaces remain free from hazards, obstructions and unauthorised items.

• Undertake minor repairs and maintenance tasks where appropriate.

• Work collaboratively with internal teams and external contractors to drive continuous improvement across estates.

• Undertake any other duties commensurate with the grade and nature of the role.

• Inspection programmes are delivered in line with agreed SLAs and KPIs.

• Estates remain compliant with relevant legislation, safety requirements and organisational standards.

• Contractor performance is effectively monitored and managed.

• Health and safety risks are identified and addressed promptly.

• Strong cross-departmental relationships help maximise business objectives.

• Residents experience well-maintained, safe and attractive neighbourhoods.

• Resident satisfaction improves through high-quality estate services and effective issue resolution.

• Accurate inspection records, compliance checks and supporting documentation are maintained.

Essential Skills and Experience

• Experience carrying out estate, communal area, housing, facilities or environmental inspections.

• Experience using IT systems and mobile technology to record information and raise issues.

• Experience measuring estate or site standards against contractor service level agreements.

• Experience working in a customer-facing environment and responding to service-related enquiries and complaints.

• Experience liaising with contractors, internal teams and external agencies to resolve issues and improve services.

• Understanding of common estate issues including fly-tipping, abandoned items, communal repairs, waste management, cleaning standards and anti-social behaviour indicators.

• Working knowledge of health and safety requirements relating to communal areas.

• Knowledge of grounds maintenance and/or cleaning best practice.

• Knowledge and relevant training relating to fire door inspections.

• Understanding of legislative requirements governing communal area inspections and compliance checks.

Skills

• Ability to carry out thorough, consistent and evidence-based inspections with excellent attention to detail.

• Strong communication, relationship-building and negotiation skills.

• Ability to use Microsoft Office, mobile technology and digital inspection systems confidently.

• Ability to work independently, prioritise workload and make sound decisions on site.

• Ability to identify risks, take appropriate action and escalate concerns when required.

Benefits

At Lifestone Homes, we believe in creating an environment where our people feel valued, supported and inspired to grow. That's why we offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your wellbeing, development, finances and work-life balance.

• 25 days annual leave, increasing with service to a maximum of 30 days.

• Christmas closure in addition to annual leave entitlement.

• Option to buy up to 5 additional days annual leave each year.

• Generous pension scheme with up to 10% employer contributions.

• Annual performance bonus scheme recognising