A new housing system and website is being rolled out across Kent to create a more user-friendly service for people on the housing register.
The system, which will be run by provider Huume, will go live in July 2023 and have a new look, be more streamlined and easier to navigate, while still providing the same service.
Once launched, applicants will continue to log into their accounts and be able to view and bid on properties in the Ashford borough as and when they become available, the same as they do now.
To move from the current system to the new one, it means that any new applications to the housing register are suspended for a month while outstanding ones are completed and data moved over.
This will happen from 1 June 2023, and Ashford Borough Council suggests applicants wanting to apply to the register put in new applications well before this date. The register resumes on 1 July.
The process for people who find themselves unexpectedly homeless or requiring housing options advice during that month will still be in place.
Kent Homechoice is a partnership of 13 local authorities, 28 housing associations and Kent County Council, which was set up to provide a way to apply for affordable and social housing.
If clients approach Ashford’s housing register team and are considered to be vulnerable and in a high housing need, it will be possible for their applications to be added manually to the Huume system during the period that the housing register is suspended.
For more information please visit www.kenthomechoice.org.uk