Accommodation Types

You might have registered with Kent Homechoice and be hoping for an offer of Council or Housing Association accommodation. Unfortunately, there are many more people on the waiting list than there are homes, so you might not be offered anything. However, there are other options.

Private renting is a popular choice. Many landlords and letting agencies advertise their properties online. It might be more affordable to rent a room in a shared house, rather than renting a flat or house by yourself.    

Spareroom.co.uk is a popular website, which also gives advice and information for people who are looking for a flatshare. Many letting agencies also have shared houses to let. In shared accommodation, the cost of gas, electricity, water, TV Licence, Council Tax, maybe even Wifi is shared with the other tenants, and you pay less rent because you share.

What to think about

When looking for accommodation, think about what you would like to live near to: your workplace or college/university? Do you need to attend regular medical appointments? Perhaps you have friends and family who you would like to live near to? It is important to find out how much you should expect to pay for rent in the area you plan to live in. Rents can be high in Kent (although not as high as in most areas of London).

If the rent is too high, is there somewhere nearby that is cheaper? Maybe even a short bus journey or drive away? Whether you will be paying your rent out of your wages, or by claiming Housing Benefit/Universal Credit, you need to be sure that you can afford it before you sign the tenancy agreement.

Kent

In Kent, the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) doesn’t cover the full monthly rent for most rental properties. This means that you will need to have some way of paying whatever is owed to your landlord after you have paid your Housing Benefit to them (“the shortfall”). As a care leaver, you are entitled to a higher rate of Housing Benefit up to the age of 22. This is helpful when you are looking for somewhere to live, but you will need to think about how you will pay your rent after the age of 22, when your benefit is reduced to Single Room Rate. There is a lot to think about, but your PA can advise you on issues around rent benefits and tenancy agreements, to help you decide what is best for you.

Guarantor

Many lettings agents ask for a guarantor. A guarantor is a person you know – usually a family member - who will be responsible for paying your rent, if you can’t (or don’t). A guarantor is usually a home owner, in employment, earning over a certain amount of money. Not everybody knows someone who they can ask to be their guarantor. Kent County Council has recognised this difficulty and has introduced a rent guarantor scheme. In certain circumstances, Kent County Council can act as a rent guarantor on behalf of a young person aged over 18, where there is no family member willing/able to do so. Your PA can give you information on the guarantor scheme.

Setting Up Home

Setting up a home is expensive, but Kent County Council can offer a Setting Up Home Allowance up to the value of £2,000.00, to buy essential items when you move into your own home. From 1st October 2018, additional financial support can be provided to you, to cover your first month’s rent, deposit, and letting agent fees, when moving into private rented accommodation. This is in addition to the £2,000.00 Setting Up Home Allowance. The Council also provides an option to put some or all the Setting Up Home Allowance into an adult ISA or Help to Buy scheme, to help promote your financial security, financial independence, and savings for future accommodation. This is something else that your PA can speak to you about.

Want to find out more about accommodation as a Care Leaver? Click here.

Organised Open Days are one way to find out about college or university life and get a sense of what studying at different institutions is really like.  You can discover more about your chosen courses and explore the college or university site at your own pace.  They are a unique opportunity to find out exactly what you will study and how, explore the facilities and gain further information directly from the teachers, tutors and students already there!

Top Tips for attending Open Days

• Check if you can just turn up or whether you need to register or book on to a site/campus tour by visiting the college or university website before the Open Day.
• Go with a list of questions and things you want to find out.  Open Days are a fantastic opportunity to actually speak to real people including students studying courses you are interested in!
• Try to picture yourself studying there – different colleges/universities suit different people.  You need to find the right one for you.
• Don’t forget to check out the other facilities.  What’s the café or restaurant like? Is there a gym or clubs you can join?
• Open days are also a good way to get to know the local area, find where the college is and work out how easy it is to get to it from home.

College and university Open Days are taking place throughout November and December.  You can find College Open Day dates here and information about visiting Kent Universities here.  Don’t worry if you miss an Open Day.  You can often arrange to visit informally – just give the college or university a ring or visit their website to find out more.

Don’t forget there are also advisers in Virtual School Kent and the Care Leavers 18+ Service who can help you too.  Talk to your Social Worker or PA who can put you in touch with the right person.

Our Young Adult Council (YAC) wants to hear your views about the services the Care Leavers 18+ Service provides.  

To do this, they have launched a new survey designed to find out about your experiences of leaving care and identify where the 18+ Service can improve.  This survey is open to all Care Leavers aged 18 and over who were in the care of Kent County Council and are now supported by the Care Leavers 18+ Service.

Click here to access the survey.  You can answer in a variety of languages such as Pashto or Tigriyan and all your answers are anonymous, so you can be as honest as you want - tell us what you really think!  It’s easy to complete and should only take about 5 minutes.

YAC is urging as many care leavers as possible to take part as you are best placed to tell the Care Leavers 18+ Service what being a care leaver is really like and how they can make things better for you and others.  It’s your chance to rate the 18+ Service and let them know your views about Pathway Planning, your placement and how informed you feel about the services they provide. 

SHARE YOUR VIEWS AND HAVE YOUR SAY!

As in previous years, lots of nominations were received and 88 awards were presented to young people, many of whom attended the awards ceremony.  It was a truly fantastic evening with over 50 young people attending, supported by their friends, carers, social workers and personal advisers.  The event had a red, black and gold theme with red carpet, balloons, photo screen, sports activities and a delicious buffet.   Everyone was blown away by the young people’s achievements.  The event also included an entertaining quiz about the Young Adult Council led by the VSK Apprentices (some tables were very competitive!) and a talk about the National Citizen Service by Ben Powell.

Awards presented at the ceremony included:

• Young people achieving excellent GCSE results
• Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards for our post 16 students
• Young Adult Council members received recognition for their commitment to the Council
• National Citizen Service Award

There were some really inspiring stories from these young people and they rightly deserved the recognition of their achievements!

Well done again to all the winners!