The PACT group agreed to: 

be able to offer a full service of what takes place within the village.

From the April meeting it agreed

ACTION MBC, MHT, Sanctuary, Home Housing, Town & Country & Fishmongers scheme., It was agreed that the 5 Housing Associations/ Charities do a brief outline as to their current situation within the village and how they operated within  CBL or not. That this includes a point of contact That MBC do a short article to outline their role as an introduction. That this should20be done for inclusion in future Network and information could be held by Parish Council for future reference.What is Choice Based Letting

 received from MBC  

Maidstone council in partnership with 10 other local authorities has joined forces in developing a choice based letting scheme in Kent called Kent Homechoice. Under the scheme, all available social housing properties in Kent are advertised on a fortnightly basis. The adverts are placed on the Kent homechoice website (www.kenthomechoice.org.uk) and through a free sheet.  The free sheet can be picked up at various distribution points in the Borough and these are listed in th e schemes users guide which I have attached. The Users Guide also provides very useful information on what the scheme is and how to bid for a property. 

How does Kent Homechoice work ? 

Customers who wish to participate in the scheme would need to complete a Housing Register form. The form is used by the council to assess a customers existing housing need and “points” awarded in accordance with our  allocation policy. Following this assessment the customer will automatically become a member of Kent Homechoice.  Customers will receive confirmation of this through a welcome pack. The pack includes the customers  unique reference number to enable them to place a bid; confirmation of how many points they have been awarded; the number of bedrooms they are eligible to bid for and whether they are registered as a homeseeker or transfer applicants. All customers who are tenants of a social housing  property, are registered as transfer applicants and customers in all other tenures (i.e those in private rented accommodation) are registered as homeseekers. Customers will also receive a copy of the scheme Users Guide.  

How can a customer place a bid for a property ?

A bid is an expression of interest in a particula r property ( no money is exchanged!). Customer can placed a bid:

·         Online through the Kent Homechoic Website

·         Telephone by contacting the council’s Contact Centre on 01622 602440

·         Coupon – this is sent directly to customers as part of the welcome pack

·         By text message 

What happens when the bids close after each cycle ?

A shortlist is generated of all customers who have placed a bid for a property. The shortlist is managed by the social landlord who advertised the property. The customer with the highest points is offered the property. However, if two customers have the same points and both placed a bid for the same property, then the customer who has been waiting the longest on the housing register is prioritised.

 Local letting policies

Where the council has agreed a local letting policy in consultation with relevant social landlord or tenants association or a particular property is subject to planning agreements or other restrictions, only applicants who meet the term of the agreement or restriction will be able bid for the property. This would be highlighted in the property advert.  

Forthcoming events

Parish Council; Wednesday September 30th 7.30pm in the village hall. See previous minutes

Helpers meeting Lenham Community Centre 6th October 7.30