Keep up to date with what's happening in the world of resident involvement.
Read our resident inspector newsletters
West Kent residents attend TPAS National Scrutiny Conference
Members of West Kent's Resident Scrutiny Panel recently attended the TPAS (Tenant engagement experts) National Tenant Scrutiny Conference 2026 in Northampton, joining residents and housing professionals from across the country to discuss how scrutiny can improve housing services.
The event explored the theme of "The Art of Good Scrutiny", with speakers highlighting the importance of listening to residents, asking the right questions and using feedback to bring about positive change.
Residents play a vital role in helping housing associations improve services by sharing their experiences and challenging existing ways of working. Effective scrutiny helps ensure services are transparent, accountable and focused on what matters to residents.
Our scrutiny panel shared their experience of reviewing service charge communications - a review that took place in 2025. The review aimed to make information easier to understand and ensure residents have clear expectations of what they are paying for.
As a result of the review, several improvements have been introduced, including:
A new resident-friendly service charge leaflet
Clearer explanations of service charges and rent information
Improved communication about the move to variable service charges
Ongoing monitoring to ensure recommendations continue to make a difference.
The conference was a valuable opportunity to showcase the positive impact residents can have when they work alongside their landlord to review services and recommend improvements.
If you are interested in getting involved and helping shape the services you receive, contact residentinvolvement@wkha.org.uk to find out more.
Shaping professionalism at West Kent
As part of our work to prepare for the new Competence and Conduct Standard, which came into effect in October 2026, we asked residents what professionalism and accountability should look like at West Kent. Thank you to everyone who shared their views and experiences. Your feedback helped shape our new Professionalism policy, which was reviewed by our Scrutiny Panel in August before being finalised. The policy has now been published and will help ensure we continue to deliver services that are professional, respectful and accountable.
Kent Housing Group Excellence Award for Partnerships
We would like to say a big thank you to the 62 resident inspectors who support our Grounds Maintenance Resident Inspector Project. Working in partnership with Nurture, their feedback has helped drive service improvements, contributing to a 6% increase in satisfaction with communal areas and a reduction in grounds maintenance complaints since 2023. This strong partnership between residents, West Kent and Nurture was recently recognised with a Kent Housing Group Excellence Award for partnerships, celebrating the positive impact residents have in helping to shape our services.
We keep residents informed about what is happening in resident involvement. We use this news letter to promote opportunities for you to get involved, communicate project updates and feedback to residents about current consultations.
If you would like to receive these updates then please complete this short survey and select the option to be added to our mailing list.
January 2026 March 2026 May 2026 July 2026
That's our news - but what are your views?
Find out more about opportunities to get involved and keep an eye on our consultations page to have your say on our policy consultations.
Register your interest in an opportunity by completing this short survey.
Get in touch with the team by completing our web form, emailing residentinvolvement@wkha.org.uk or calling 01732 749908.