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January 2026
In this issue:
Good Neighbour Awards, reassuring elderly tenants, cracking down on ASB and the next date for the Tenants' and Leaseholders' Forum.
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Celebrating the Good Neighbours who bring our Housing community together

We were very excited to host this year’s Good Neighbour Awards at the Sir Peter Blake Gallery this week. We had some fantastic tenants nominated for the awards for their selfless acts to support the people around them.
It’s wonderful to be able to celebrate the great community we have amongst our tenants. Whether they’re doing something as simple as helping with the bins, or pitching in on the communal gardens, sharing useful information, helping with the weekly shop or making sure that a vulnerable friend or neighbour is okay, this year’s Good Neighbour Awards winners go above and beyond to make others’ lives’ easier.
A huge thank you to all of the tenants who picked up their award on Wednesday.
Your new Tenant Portal is live and ready to use

We’re excited to announce that our new Tenant Portal is now available. Through this portal, you can now easily view your rent account, update your details, track repairs, and access important documents, all in one place when most convenient to you.
To get started, simply visit the portal and follow the instructions to create your account if you have not done so already using details from your tenancy.
Free home swap service available to our tenants
HomeSwapper is a free online service available 24 hours a day that can help you if you're looking to find someone to carry out a mutual exchange.
Tenants' and Leaseholders' Forum
The Dartford Tenants’ and Leaseholders’ Forum makes sure your needs are placed at the centre of DBC's housing service.
You can attend a meeting of the Forum to hear from them, and DBC staff.
Upcoming public meetings:
- Tuesday, February 17. 7pm. Swanscombe and Greenhithe Town Council and Community Hall, 16 The Grove, DA10 0AD
Get cash just for moving home
Is your current home too big for you? You could get money to move to a smaller one.
The Downsize for Cash Scheme helps tenants who are under-occupying their property, to move to a smaller home if they wish to, and in turn, help families find a home with the space they need.
You could received up to £5,700.
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Get Housing updates straight to your phone
We've launched a WhatsApp channel to keep you up to date with important documents, news and events.
All messages in this group are closed to maintain privacy. Personal information is accessible to admins only.
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A Facebook group that's just for you
We've introduced a new Facebook group for tenants and leaseholders across Dartford to join so they can receive updates direct to their news feeds.
The group is designed for you to raise issues, hear the latest from us and improve our service.
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You said, we did. Greenhithe High Street clean up
 Our Estates Ground Maintenance Operative, Les Cadwallader, got to work to tidy up the parking area in High Street Greenhithe recently.
Clearance of the compacted garden waste gave the car park a much needed face lift and made life easier for motorists parking on site. Thanks for letting us know about this issue so we could get out and fix it for you.
Worried about rent? Let's work this out together
We know that many of our residents are feeling the squeeze right now.
If you are finding it difficult to keep up with your rent, the most important thing you can do is talk to us early. Falling behind on rent is stressful, but ignoring the problem often makes it harder to solve. If you know you will struggle to make your next payment, contact the Rents Team as soon as you can on 01322 343134.
Even if you're working, you might be entitled to financial support. Check online by using a benefits calculator, or by contacting us, as one of the team may be able to help.
Do you know someone who needs help to get online?
Every second Monday of the month, we run a drop-in service between 10am and 12pm to help our Council tenants learn more about the mutual exchange scheme, also known as home swapping.
The drop-in sessions are aimed at helping tenants who are unable to access the internet or are unsure how to use the online HomeSwapper service.
If you know someone who might benefit from this drop-in, please do let them know.
Coffee morning to discuss upcoming safety works

Sureserve Fire and Compliance team, together with our Housing Maintenance team, recently held a coffee morning at Thatcher Court in Temple Hill ahead of planned fire safety improvement works.
The coffee morning gave residents the chance to meet the contractor carrying out the work, find out what to expect and ask any questions about the works. It was a great opportunity to talk through the project and provide reassurance before the work began.
The improvement programme, which has just concluded, saw all communal doors at Thatcher Court replaced with new fire doors in line with current fire safety standards.
We have received great feedback about the project, with residents complimenting both the high standard of work, the contractor and its operatives. Following the success of the event, we hope to hold similar coffee mornings ahead of future large projects.
Want to carry out improvements to your home?
You'll need to seek permission from us before making alterations to your property.
Tenants and leaseholders are required to complete an ‘Alteration Request Form’ and submit it to Dartford Borough Council for approval prior to commencing structural and/or cosmetic works. This includes:
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Installation of camera or a ring doorbell
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Electric vehicle charging point installations
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Alterations to bathroom or kitchen
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Hardstanding for a driveway
Failure to obtain permission could result in you being required to rectify the changes or return the property to its original condition.
Not sure if you need to complete a form? Your Housing Officer can help.
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Cracking down on vehicle crime and nuisance
Our Housing Anti-Social Behaviour Team and its partners have had some great success recently dealing with vehicles linked to ASB, crime and nuisance around your homes.
After serving warnings and notices, several cases are now being readied for prosecution at magistrates' court. If successful, the court can impose sanctions on the offenders ranging from additional fines to the removal of vehicles, revoking their driving license and eviction notices.
Please be aware that parking on amenity land (grassed areas) or Dartford Borough Council land is not allowed. Parking on estates without permission breaks your tenancy or lease agreement. In the next few months, we’ll be undertaking vehicle audits on our estates. If you haven’t sought permission to park then we will seek enforcement action.
Help us protect our community
It’s in your interest to report antisocial behaviour, nuisance, tenancy breaches, subletting and fraud to us. We’ll always investigate and find the best possible solution.
Most of the reports we deal with aren’t serious crime, but day-to-day issues that affect how our neighbourhoods look and feel. The good news is that we sort most of them quickly, without ever needing to go to court, but we still need your support. For us to properly investigate, we need good supporting evidence, without putting you or your family at risk. Here are some tips on how you can help us stop anti-social behaviour.
Noise
Our colleagues in the Environmental Health team can provide access to the noiseapp which is a great way to capture persistent sound such as dogs barking or people playing music loudly.
CCTV video doorbells/portable and/or fixed security cameras)
If permission has been successfully sought to install CCTV at your property, then good quality images can greatly assist a case. Be aware that CCTV directed over shared spaces is not allowed and we can take action against you and/or your tenancy If you haven’t got permission. Contact our Housing and Estates Management team to seek permission for CCTV and/or a video doorbell.
Diaries
Paper diaries are good to record incidents but we also welcome weekly or monthly emails with information clearly set out. Contact our ASB team for advice.
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New policies and strategies
We published the following policies and strategy after a round of consultations that invited your views on them.
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New Housing Strategy 2025-2028, which sets out how we intend to deliver our service to you over the next three years.
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Updated Housing Allocations Policy, which sets out how we prioritise housing applications for housing owned by us and our housing association partners.
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New Water Safety Management Plan and Policy, which sets out the measures we take to manage the risks of Legionella bacteria.
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New Housing Statutory Maintenance and Compliance Policy, which sets out our management arrangements for property compliance and how we will meet our responsibilities and duties as a responsible landlord.
Have your say on future consultations
Thank you to everyone who took the time to contact us on any of our recent consultations. We really do value your views as your feedback can really help shape and influence what we do.
We’ll always invite you to have your say on our housing policies and strategies when we review them, or when we develop new ones. Consultations usually run for four to six weeks and all details will be available on our website. We may also send you a text or email to let you know about any policy or strategy consultations which are happening.
We can also produce hard copies of any consultation information on request.
Got a complaint about our service?
If we get things wrong, we want to make them right and learn from our mistakes.
How to complain
If you’re not satisfied with the service you’ve received from us, we want you to tell us what happened so we can resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
Visit our complaints page to make a complaint and understand the process. This page also explains how to seek advice from the Housing Ombudsman.
Every year we carry out a self-assessment against the Ombudsman's Complaints Handling Code to see how we’re performing as a landlord. View the self-assessment.
View the latest Housing complaints figures.
Help, advice and support links
Cost of living support
Support with domestic abuse
Tenant Portal
Advice on banned dog breeds
Upcoming events
Current consultations
My Community Voice
Dealing with loneliness
The quickest and easiest way to contact the Council is via our website and the vast majority of Council services, from paying your rent to reporting a repair or requesting a new bin can be accessed through via our do it online portal.
If you really need to call us, phone 01322 343434 Monday to Friday between 8.45am and 5.15pm (4.45pm on Fridays). In an out of hours emergency, call 0345 634 1212.
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