Decision

Incommunities Limited (L4476) - Regulatory Judgement: 15 April 2026

Updated 15 April 2026

Applies to England

Our Judgement

	Grade/Judgement	Change	Date of assessment
Consumer	C2 Our judgement is that there are some weaknesses in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and improvement is needed.	First grading	April 2026
Governance	G1 Our judgement is that the landlord meets our governance requirements.	Assessed and unchanged	April 2026
Viability	V2 Our judgement is that the landlord meets our viability requirements. It has the financial capacity to deal with a reasonable range of adverse scenarios but needs to manage material risks to ensure continued compliance.	Assessed and unchanged	April 2026

Reason for publication

We are publishing a regulatory judgement for Incommunities Limited (Incommunities) following an inspection completed in April 2026.

This regulatory judgement confirms a consumer grade of C2, a governance grade of G1 and a financial viability grade of V2.

Prior to this regulatory judgement, the governance and financial viability grades for Incommunities were last updated in January 2025 following a stability check and responsive engagement to confirm a G1 grade for governance and a V2 grade for financial viability. This is the first time we have issued a consumer grade in relation to this landlord.

Summary of the decision

From the assurance gained during the inspection, based on the evidence provided by Incommunities, our judgement is that there are some weaknesses in Incommunities delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and improvement is needed, specifically in relation to the outcomes of our Neighbourhood and Community Standard and the Safety and Quality Standard. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a C2 grade for Incommunities.

Our judgement is that Incommunities meets our governance requirements. Incommunities has provided evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of its governance arrangements and that it continues to effectively manage the risks of its activities, allowing it to deliver its strategic objectives. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a G1 grade for Incommunities.

Our judgement is that Incommunities meets our financial viability requirements. It is forecasting continued covenant compliance, has access to sufficient liquidity, and stress testing shows it has the financial capacity to manage a reasonable range of adverse scenarios. However, increased investment in existing homes while maintaining the delivery of new homes is reflected in its financial metrics and has reduced its capacity to respond to adverse events. Based on this assessment, we have concluded a V2 grade for Incommunities.

How we reached our judgement

We carried out an inspection of Incommunities to assess how well it is delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and meeting our governance and financial viability requirements, as part of our planned regulatory inspection programme. During the inspection, we considered all four of the consumer standards: Neighbourhood and Community Standard, Safety and Quality Standard, Tenancy Standard, and the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard.

During the inspection we observed a board and customer experience committee meeting and a tenant scrutiny panel. We also spoke with tenants, held meetings with Incommunities including its non-executive directors, interviewed staff, and reviewed a wide range of documents provided by Incommunities.

Our regulatory judgement is based on all the relevant information we obtained during the inspection as well as analysis of information supplied by Incommunities in its regulatory returns and other regulatory engagement activity.

Summary of findings

Consumer – C2 – April 2026

In relation to the Safety and Quality Standard, we have assurance that Incommunities has appropriate measures in place to ensure the health and safety of its tenants in their homes and associated communal areas. We saw evidence that processes are in place to manage damp and mould effectively and to meet the legally required timescales and processes for the inspection and repair of significant and emergency hazards.

Incommunities has refreshed its knowledge on the condition of its homes and is using this information to support its strategy for investing in and managing its homes. We saw evidence that Incommunities is taking a risk-based approach to managing the safety of its buildings and has arrangements in place to meet regulatory and legal obligations. It has appropriate mitigations in place to keep tenants’ homes safe while remediation works are in progress.

Incommunities demonstrated that it is making progress in delivering an efficient and timely repairs and maintenance service. A targeted strategy, informed by tenant feedback, has led to improvements in the response times of emergency and routine repairs. The board will need to ensure that the balance of reporting on the repairs service provides sufficient assurance on service quality in the context of a high proportion of tenant complaints relating to repairs. We will continue to engage with Incommunities whilst these changes are implemented and improved outcomes for tenants are demonstrated.

In relation to the Neighbourhood and Community Standard, we have assurance that Incommunities works with local partners to deter and tackle instances of anti-social behaviour and hate crime, and that this is underpinned by a clear strategic focus on improving neighbourhoods and services. In terms of outcomes for tenants, there is a lack of information reported to board on whether prompt and appropriate action is being taken in relation to anti-social behaviour and this limits the board’s assurance. This also means that in neighbourhoods where Incommunities is actively targeting its improvement work, there is not yet sufficient evidence provided to the board on the impact this is having. The planned change to IT systems is intended to support Incommunities in addressing this. We will continue to engage with Incommunities while it strengthens its assurance on improved outcomes for tenants.

Incommunities is meeting the outcomes of the Tenancy Standard. Policies on allocations and lettings are publicly accessible on its website, and we saw evidence that homes are allocated fairly and transparently, taking the needs of tenants and prospective tenants into account. During the inspection, we saw evidence that Incommunities supports its tenants to maintain their tenancies.

In relation to the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard, we gained assurance that Incommunities is delivering the required outcomes. Incommunities demonstrates an understanding of its tenants’ diverse needs and has arrangements for keeping this information up to date. Incommunities uses the information to inform service design and to ensure that services are better tailored to meet the individual needs of tenants and their wider households. We saw evidence of meaningful tenant feedback and scrutiny influencing building safety, the repairs service and Incommunities’ strategy for managing its homes.

Incommunities provides accessible and relevant information to enable tenants to access its services, get support and advice, and understand how well services are performing. Tenants have multiple opportunities to provide meaningful feedback, including through scrutiny reviews, an online platform, and through in person and digital surveys.

Incommunities is delivering a fair, prompt and timely complaints service. Its improvement strategies are informed by learning from complaints, and we saw evidence that this is resulting in service improvement. High complaints volumes and results from tenant perception surveys indicate that Incommunities will need to embed its digital, property and neighbourhood improvement strategies to evidence sustained improvements in outcomes for tenants.

We will continue to engage with Incommunities whilst strengthened assurance is provided on improved outcomes for tenants.

Governance – G1 – April 2026

Based on the evidence gained from the inspection, we have assurance that Incommunities meets our governance requirements. The board and the executive team have the skills and experience to effectively manage risk and adequately control the organisation in line with its strategic objectives and delivery against our standards.

The board monitors and challenges performance against strategic targets. Incommunities’ risk management and control framework is aligned to strategic risks and is supported by effective internal audit arrangements. We saw evidence that Incommunities considers its risk appetite when making decisions and that areas for improvement are identified and action plans are in place. Incommunities demonstrated that its governance arrangements allow for active tenant scrutiny.

Effective governance is maintained by skills-led succession planning, board member appraisals, annual internal effectiveness reviews and periodic external effectiveness reviews. Board skills are regularly reviewed, and recommendations from external governance effectiveness reviews inform board recruitment and succession plans. Established board and committee delegations enable effective decision making and are regularly reviewed.

Incommunities has demonstrated that its financial governance arrangements are appropriately robust. Board reporting provides sufficient detail for the board to ensure effective oversight of financial and commercial risks. Incommunities evidenced an embedded approach to achieving value for money and demonstrated that the board provides robust challenge to support the organisation to deliver optimal benefits from the resources it has available.

Viability – V2 – April 2026

Based on the evidence gained from the inspection, we have assurance that Incommunities meets our viability requirements. It has the financial capacity to deal with a reasonable range of adverse scenarios but needs to manage material risks to ensure continued compliance.

Incommunities has an adequately funded business plan with sufficient security in place to support its financial plans. The board maintains effective ownership and oversight of its financial position through a suite of indicators and stress testing. The most recent audited financial statements demonstrate a financial performance that provides sufficient headroom over covenants and adequate operating surplus for the scale and nature of its activities.

Incommunities’ financial plans are consistent with and support the delivery of its financial strategy. Incommunities is investing in its existing homes to improve their quality and energy efficiency alongside developing new homes.

Incommunities has a robust, board-led approach to stress testing, which demonstrates it can withstand a reasonable range of adverse economic scenarios. Testing is linked to the strategic risk register and is supported by mitigating actions. During our inspection, we observed how Incommunities has used stress testing to support proactive action to improve financial resilience.

Background to the judgement

About the landlord

Incommunities is the only RSH registered entity in its group and is a non-profit registered provider of social housing. It provides homes across eight local authority areas, with homes concentrated in Bradford and Kirklees. It owns and manages around 21,300 social homes and manages around 360 homes for Bradford Metropolitan District Council. Incommunities owns and manages 18 buildings at more than 18 metres tall, and 14 buildings between 11 metres and 18 metres tall.

At 31 March 2025, Incommunities employed 921 full-time equivalent staff, and its turnover was £125.6m. Incommunities has plans to develop or acquire 1,577 new homes over the next 5 years.

Our role and regulatory approach

We regulate for a viable, efficient, and well governed social housing sector able to deliver quality homes and services for current and future tenants.  

We regulate at the landlord level to drive improvement in how landlords operate. By landlord we mean a registered provider of social housing. These can either be local authorities, or private registered providers (other organisations registered with us such as non-profit housing associations, co-operatives, or profit-making organisations). 

We set standards which state outcomes that landlords must deliver. The outcomes of our standards include both the required outcomes and specific expectations we set. Where we find there are significant failures in landlords which we consider to be material to the landlord’s delivery of those outcomes, we hold them to account. Ultimately this provides protection for tenants’ homes and services and achieves better outcomes for current and future tenants. It also contributes to a sustainable sector which can attract strong investment. 

We have a different role for regulating local authorities than for other landlords. This is because we have a narrower role for local authorities and the Governance and Financial Viability Standard, and Value for Money Standard do not apply. Further detail on which standards apply to different landlords can be found on our standards page. 

We assess the performance of landlords through inspections and by reviewing data that landlords are required to submit to us. In Depth Assessments (IDAs) were one of our previous assessment processes, which are now replaced by our inspections programme from 1 April 2024. We also respond where there is an issue or a potential issue that may be material to a landlord’s delivery of the outcomes of our standards. We publish regulatory judgements that describe our view of landlords’ performance with our standards. We also publish grades for landlords with more than 1,000 social housing homes. 

The Housing Ombudsman deals with individual complaints. When individual complaints are referred to us, we investigate if we consider that the issue may be material to a landlord’s delivery of the outcomes of our standards.  

For more information about our approach to regulation, please see Regulating the standards.

Further information

• Regulating the standards

• Regulatory standards for landlords