Supported Housing Somerset - Grounds Maintenance

We expect our residents to be good neighbours by doing their best to keep these areas clean and tidy by not fly tipping or leaving belongings in communal areas. Residents should report issues as they occur to their housing officer.

In some communal areas, our contractors cut grass and hedges, sweep the pavements, maintain the trees and keep pedestrian and parking areas clear.

In some shared buildings, we provide a cleaning service to keep communal spaces clean and tidy – including the floors, walls, ceilings, windows and external doors.

We carry out regular estate inspections to ensure that the schemes you live at are kept clean, tidy and safe.

Report a missed visit here.

The communal cleaning and grounds maintenance for our general needs properties, with the exception of properties in Birmingham, is carried out by Ambience Facilities Management.

Tell us what you think

We monitor the quality of grounds maintenance and cleaning against our service standards and welcome your feedback on how we’re doing.

Our Standards

Our contractors carry out the following cleaning tasks in some shared buildings:


Wet Wipe Clean	Wet wiping ledges, window sills, skirting boards, doors (including door furniture: handles, locks and closures), radiators and any other gloss painted surfaces including visible pipework, ensuring cleaning products used do not damage fittings.
Cobwebs	Removing from walls, ceilings and windows.
Stair Banisters and Rails	Dusting down and polishing, ensuring use of appropriate cleaning products (particularly on glass / metal).
Marks	Removing marks from walls, windows, door frames and other surfaces to ceiling height.
Lighting Units	Cleaning lighting units, switches and inside covers where accessible.
Interior Glass	Cleaning interior of all windows and mirrors in communal areas including partitioning glass door frames, and external window sills, using appropriate window/glass cleaner, and removing any finger prints.
Graffiti	Removing any graffiti found internally (using appropriate cleaning agent). Any external graffiti should be recorded to the council and offensive graffiti must be reported to Elim within 24 hours.
Storage Cupboards/ Meter Rooms/ Bins and Bike Stores	Sweeping and removing cobwebs/litter/debris/dust and disinfecting bin stores.
Lifts	Sweeping and washing the floors of any lifts, polishing lift door and internal walls, removing any fingerprints or marks. Wiping surfaces with disinfectant product.
Litter and Debris	Picking up and removing litter and other debris from entrances and communal flooring and ensuring gulleys are clear. Emptying internal waste paper bins and replacing liners.
Hard Floors	Sweeping and mopping internal stairs and landings including washing stair nosings, side rails and side stair panels. Slip signs will be used at all times. Ensuring cleaning products used do not damage fittings.
Carpeted Areas/ Maps	Vacuuming carpeted areas and clean, sweeping and vacuuming doormats/doormat wells.
External Litter	Remove litter and debris from the outdoor grounds of the site within the property line, empty external ashtray bins and replace liners where appropriate and instructed (on a site to site basis).

In addition to the tasks above, it is expected that contractors will report any property-related issues to Elim within 24 hours of the scheme visit. This should include, but is not limited to:

Any lighting defects or communal fitting in need of repair or maintenance
Fire alarm faults
Any incidents of vandalism, squatting or abandonment
Any rodents seen on site, dead or alive
Any Health and Safety breaches, including any needles or drug paraphernalia
Any internal graffiti and offensive external graffiti

Our contractors carry out the following grounds maintenance tasks for some properties:

Litter	Picking up and remove litter from all grassed areas, entrances, borders, flower and shrub beds, bases of hedges and trees, fence borders, drains, porches, walkways, hard standings and car parks. Also remove debris including leaves and cigarette butts from manholes/drainage covers. Empty ashtrays (if provided) and bins and replace with plastic liner as required.
Green Waste Removal	Removing all waste from grass cutting, hedge cutting, leaf clearing, tree and shrub maintenance.
Flower and Shrub Beds	All flower and shrub beds to be kept free of weeds.
Trees	Inspecting health of trees on each visit and reporting to Elim any necessary pruning of excess height, deadwood or diseased or damaged branches.
Hedges	Cutting all established hedges with powered hedge cutters or hand sheers. Cutting sides and tops of hedges, grass and weeds. Removing debris.
Weed Killing	Removing weeds, moss and vegetation from footpaths, bases of buildings, stone areas, hard standings, expansion joints, fence lines, drains, patios and car parks. Applying residual herbicide in March and April and spot treatment of any re-growth throughout the growing season. All treatments are non-toxic and safe for pets.
Grass Cutting	Mowing grassed areas according to the agreed schedule. Tidying and edging all borders of lawns, beds and grassed areas. Mowing inaccessible margins, isolated rough areas of any size, corners, base of fence lines etc. Cutting will be as close as possible to trees, buildings and benches without causing damage, and should include growth around obstructions in grassed areas such as gas and electric meters.