Welcome to West Kent

Welcome to your new home. We want your experience of living in a West Kent home to be positive and for you to feel safe and happy living in your neighbourhood.

You can find all the information you'll need to manage your tenancy on this website. This section will get you started with the bits you need to know as you move into your new home, but do browse the other sections when you can.

First things first

Once you've settled into your new home there are a few urgent tasks you should tackle first.

  • Register for our customer portal, My West Kent, so you can view your rent account and manage some aspects of your tenancy online, including booking certain repairs and paying your rent. 
  • Set up your utility suppliers to arrange for water, gas and electricity in your home.
  • Tell your local authority Council Tax team that you’ve moved in.
  • Give a trusted family member or friend a spare key.
  • Contacting us

    There are lots of ways you can get in touch with us. Just choose the one that works best for you.

    More ways to contact us

  • Home contents insurance

    Contents insurance is designed to help protect your possessions. No matter how careful you are, there’s always a risk that your personal possessions could be broken, damaged or stolen.

    All tenants and leaseholders are eligible to apply for the My Home Contents Insurance Scheme, which can cover your home contents and belongings against, fire, theft, water damage and flood. 

    More information about home contents insurance

  • Access into your home

    We have a duty to complete essential health and safety checks such as gas or electrical checks. 

    When checks for your home are due please let us in, we are happy to arrange appointments that suit you. However, if you keep not being at home we will consider other actions to ensure the safety of you and your community.

  • Resident involvement

    Have you ever had an experience with us, and thought "that's not good enough"

    If so, there are lots of ways you can get involved and share your views. You can do as much or as little as suits you.

    • You can make a genuine difference and improve things for you, your neighbours and all West Kent residents.
    • We offer training opportunities and the chance to upskill. It's a great way of improving your CV and job prospects.
    • You can meet new people and build a stronger community. 
    • We genuinely appreciate what you do and will always say thank you. 
    • You can create change and improvement.

    Find out more about resident involvement

  • Paying your rent

    There are a number of ways you can pay your rent - choose the one most convenient to you:

    • Direct Debit Online payments
    • Automated payments Online banking
    • Post office and Payzone
    • Housing Benefit or Universal Credit Standing order
    • Direct from your wages.

    Our rent pages have information for everything you need to know about your rent - including how to pay and how we set our rents and service charges.

    If you're having trouble paying your rent or other bills, visit our help for you page where we have lots of information, tips and contacts to help you with your rent, living and energy costs.

    Find out more about your rent and how to pay

  • Repairs

    To make sure your home is safe and well-maintained, we need you to work with us to report repairs that we are responsible for. 

    Reporting repairs

    If you have a repair, you can book an appointment using our online portal, by emailing help@wkha.org.uk or calling our 24-hour repairs line, 0800 169 1122.

    We also have a range of self-help videos available on our website to help you with some basic repairs such as topping up your boiler pressure and bleeding your radiators.

    Find out more about repairs at your home

    Damp and mould

    If your home has damp, mould or condensation, please let us know as soon as possible so we can investigate and make any necessary repairs. 

    Find out more about how we deal with damp and mould

    Home improvements

    We understand that sometimes you want to make some changes to your home.

    We're happy to consider agreeing to most types of tenant improvements and we won’t refuse without good reason. We do need full details of what you're planning to do before you start any work. You should also check if local planning consent is needed for what you have in mind.

    How to get permission for home improvements

  • Support

    We offer practical help and advice for a limited period of time to help you cope with things that are making it difficult for you to live at home.

    Help for You

    We know things are more difficult for many of our residents due to the cost of living. This section of our website is dedicated to providing you with information, tips and contacts to help you with your rent, living and energy costs. 

    We don't just provide a signposting service. We have teams dedicated to providing help, advice and financial support if you need it.

    Visit our Help for You pages

    Domestic abuse

    If domestic abuse is affecting you, or you think it may be affecting someone in your community, we can help. We will deal with all reports sensitively and safely and can offer support and referrals to specialist organisations. 

    How we can help those experiencing domestic abuse

    Employment, training and business start-up support

    Our employment and training team can help you discover what you want to do, set goals and support you to achieve them. The team can offer face to face appointments at Swanley, Edenbridge and Sevenoaks, online or telephone support.

    We also work in partnership with with other organisations to help you get back to work or into better paid work.

    Find out more about our employment and training service

     

     

Flats and homes with communal areas

  • Communal areas

    If you live in a block of flats, do not store anything in the communal areas including any cupboards.

    This is to keep you safe as items can become a risk in the event of a fire. We have a zero-tolerance approach and will sticker any items left in the communal area, then remove and dispose of them 

  • Rubbish and bin stores

    The only rubbish you should put in the bin store is household waste and recycling. 

    • Place bags in the bins provided, the council will not collect them if they are on the floor.
    • Please break up any large boxes you may have so they don't fill up and block access into the store.
    • If you notice the bins have not been collected, please contact your local authority and let them know. 

    Any other rubbish you must take to the nearest household waste centre - you can find your local one on the Kent County Council website. 

  • Balconies

    Please keep your balconies as clear as possible, as they are an escape route in the event of an emergency. 

    It is ok to have a small table and chairs, but do not use a BBQ.

  • Fire evacuation

    Please ensue you read  the fire evacuation notice within your block – it’s important you know what to do in the event of a fire.

    The notice will be on the wall in the communal area. If you have a disability which will make it difficult for you to escape, please let us know.

    Find out more about fire safety

Find out what you can expect when you move in

Have any questions?

Just get in touch and we'll be happy to answer any questions you might have. 

We hope you will be very happy in your West Kent home.