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May 2026
In this issue:
Good Neighbour Awards, keeping your homes safe, curbing anti-social parking.
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Celebrate local unsung heroes

Our Good Neighbour Thank You Scheme recognises tenants who go the extra mile to support their neighbours and improve their local area.
Whether it’s helping to keep the neighbourhood tidy or lending a hand with everyday tasks, we want to hear about the difference they are making. You might choose to nominate someone who:
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Helps a neighbour with daily tasks such as carrying shopping, collecting prescriptions, walking a dog, gardening, putting out bins, or completing forms
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Checks in on someone who may be experiencing loneliness or isolation
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Brightens the neighbourhood by being a friendly and supportive presence
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Organises community activities or events that bring people together
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Supports charitable work that has a positive impact on the local community
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Takes pride in their home and surroundings, helps maintain communal areas or works with us to improve services and policies
If you know a Dartford Borough Council tenant who deserves recognition, we would love to hear from you.
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The name of the person you are nominating
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A brief explanation of why they deserve recognition (maximum 100 words)
Successful nominees will receive a thank you card and will be invited to attend our annual award ceremony to celebrate their contribution.
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:
New repairs and maintenance contractor
Our new repairs and maintenance contractor Axis Europe starts next week (June 1).
The contract spans an initial term of five years, with the option of a further five-year extension. The contract serves several areas, including reactive repairs, disabled adaptations, communal improvements, void works and planned maintenance.
Find out more about the new contract.
Help us check your details are up to date
As part of our work to keep housing records accurate and up to date, we’ll be visiting some tenants’ homes over the coming weeks. During these visits, our team will confirm key details about each property, ensure information is correct, and check that any support needs are being met.
These visits help us maintain safe, well‑managed homes for everyone.
We've recently been carrying out equalities and diversity telephone calls outside of working hours to give us the best chance of reaching you when you were home. All tenants were called on two separate occasions.
We will only be visiting tenants who did not answer the phone.
Our staff will always carry identification, and visits will be conducted with professionalism and respect for your time and privacy.
Thank you for your cooperation as we complete this essential work across our homes.
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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. Keeping you safe on the school run
Following concerns raised about irresponsible parking and heavy traffic creating safety issues near Manor Community School, our Housing Team met with Councillor Emma Ben Moussa and the school to discuss what action could be taken.

Thanks to this collaborative approach between the council and the community, we’ve been able to install bollards to stop unsafe parking from continuing. We also took this opportunity to plant new bedding areas on the small green.
A huge thanks to Manor Community School’s gardening club for getting hands-on and helping with the planting, using plants kindly donated by our grounds maintenance contractor, Krinkles.
This project is a great example of effective partnership working and we look forward to continuing to work with local stakeholders on future community projects.
Eat Well for Less Cookery Class
Get help and advice on energy saving and budget meal planning, along with a questions and answers session and recipe handouts.
Ingredients are provided. You must be over 18 and a Dartford Borough Council to attend.
Spaces are limited and you'll need to prebook via our online form.
Temple Hill Community Centre
Tuesday, June 23: 11am to 2.30pm
Tuesday, June 30: 10am to 12pm.
Tree Estate Community Centre
Thursday, June 25: 1pm to 3.30pm
Tuesday, June 30: 1pm to 3.30pm
Want to carry out improvements to your home?
Installing Water Meters and Home Security Equipment
We understand that many residents are interested in making small improvements to their homes, whether that’s installing a water meter or adding security features such as CCTV or video doorbells. Here’s what you need to know.
Water meters
You do not need permission from the Council to install a water meter in your home, as long as no alterations are required to cupboards or internal spaces. If the installation would involve making changes to your home, such as modifying a cupboard or structure, you will need to contact us first to request permission.
CCTV and video doorbells
You might need permission before you install CCTV or a video doorbell.
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Permission is required if the installation involves physical changes to the property, such as drilling holes or fixing brackets to walls.
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Permission is not required if the equipment can be installed without making any physical alterations.
Even where permission is not needed, residents must ensure that any use of CCTV or video doorbells respects the privacy of others. You are responsible for complying with UK data protection laws, so make sure cameras are not intrusive and are used appropriately.
If you are unsure, contact our Housing Team and we’ll be sure to help.
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Keeping communities safe and clean
Fly-tippers caught
We’ve successfully fined a resident and business after broken furniture and packaging was dumped in Hill View, Temple Hill, following an investigation by our Housing Team.
Fly-tipping is irresponsible, illegal and harms the environment. Dartford Borough Council takes a zero-tolerance approach on identifying and penalising fly-tippers. You can find out about other recent convictions via our Name and Shame page.
We offer Dartford residents Special Collections of bulky household items.
The Council can arrange for a contractor to collect and dispose of large bulky household waste, such as furniture, televisions, fridges, freezers and washing machines.
There is a charge of £39.50 for up to 10 items, with extra items charged at £2 per item (maximum 4 extra items). Why not speak to your neighbours, arrange a collection, and share the cost?
Help do your bit
Please ensure household waste is placed in the correct bins. Bulky waste requires a special collection and shouldn’t be left in communal areas, stairwells, or walkways, and should only be put out in the correct area the night before the scheduled collection day.
Clear walkways keep everyone safe from falls and make a tidier space.
Parking Update: Keeping Roads Clear for Emergency Services
To ensure access for emergency vehicles and maintenance workers, please follow estate parking rules:
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Only park in designated bays
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No commercial vehicles over 7.5 tonnes
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No parking on grassed or landscaped areas
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No abandoned or untaxed vehicles
Your cooperation helps keep our community safe and looking great.
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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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