Keyways are excited to advise you of some new changes coming soon to our Keyways website available at www.keyways.org.uk
The planned date for the Keyways website upgrade to go live is:
Wednesday 16th March 2022
This date falls on a Wednesday which is our usual weekly administration day when no properties are available to bid on.
By upgrading our system on this day, we hope to reduce any inconvenience to our customers. It is anticipated that the Keyways website will be unavailable for one day on the above date. We expect the upgraded website to be available to our customers again from Thursday 17th March 2022 in time for the usual weekly bidding cycle.
What changes will affect me?
The Keyways website will have some new features and increased security and we are pleased to share details of these with you below.
SECURITY
Currently your account requires a login reference number and a memorable date. As an extra layer of security, when you first login following the upgrade, you will be asked to set a password. The password must consist of at least 10 characters including 2 lower case letters, 2 upper case letters and 2 numbers. Symbols and punctuation are not allowed.
In addition to this, following the upgrade all our customers will be able to request that their login reference be emailed to them, and reset their memorable date and password via the Keyways website. You will no longer need to contact the Keyways team for assistance with forgotten details and will receive an immediate response via email.
UPLOADING DOCUMENTS
We are excited to introduce a new feature that we hope will assist our customers to provide documents in support of their application as easily as possible. You will no longer need to hand deliver, post, or email them to the Keyways team for action. Any documents uploaded via the Keyways website using this new feature will immediately be attached to your application. A Keyways officer will be alerted to newly uploaded documents to undertake any verification or assessment of your application that may be required following receipt of the document(s).
Please note that not all documents provided will initiate contact from a Keyways officer or result in a change in your Keyways band. Should any changes be made to your application following the provision of new information you will be contacted.
There are two new ways to do upload documents:
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As part of the online housing application form there is a new page to enable our customers to upload documents immediately as part of their initial Keyways application.
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For customers who already have a Keyways application, this new feature can be found on your “My Account” page once you have logged in.
Documents that are essential as part of any application are:
- Photographic identification for the main and joint applicant (passport, driving licence, identify card or a birth certificate along with a passport sized photo)
- Where applicable, Home Office documentation confirming the immigration status of the main and joint applicant
- Where applicable, for those awarded a Pre-Settled Status under the European Union Settlement Scheme, proof of a right to reside
- Households with Settled Status will be contacted for their EUSS share code.
Other supporting documents that you may wish to provide but which are not considered essential unless requested by a Keyways officer may be:
- Proof of previous/current employment
- Proof of home ownership including proof of a sale or transfer within the last five years for example, proof of market value, equity held, and completion statement
- Proof of any housing related debts declared on this form and proof of re-payment plans in place
- Medical evidence to support a medical need for housing for example, an Occupational Therapist report, supporting letters from a GP or other medical professional, and proof of disability benefits such as DLA/PIP)
- Formal notice to leave your current accommodation such as a Section 21 Notice
There will be a list of categories for you to choose from to define what type of document you are providing, such as ID, Proof of Address, Medical etc.
AVERAGE WAITING TIME (HEX)
Another new and exciting feature will be added to the Keyways website during the upgrade that allows our customers to see average waiting times for types of properties in different locations. This can be found by clicking on the “Properties and recent lets search” of the Keyways website.
Once you click here, you will see a new tab called ‘Average Waiting Times’. From here you will be able to filter to a time period and geographical area including the whole of North Northamptonshire. On the next page you will have additional filters by clicking on “Refine Results”. You can filter your search by the number of bedrooms, property type and Keyways Priority Band.
You will notice that each geographical area is represented by a hexagon which you can select to obtain more details.
This new function is for guidance and information only and is based upon past lettings data*. It does not provide a guaranteed waiting time for any of our applicants.
*Please note that the data used for this function will be from November 2010 for Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough as those sovereign councils had a joint system and sub-regional choice-based lettings scheme in place before we became North Northamptonshire Council on 1 April 2021. The data for East Northants lettings will be from 1 April 2021.
EMAIL & TELEPHONE
As digital services continue to improve, the quickest and easiest way for Keyways to contact our customers is by email or telephone. We kindly ask you to log into your Keyways account and ensure that you have provided these contact details or update your details if they have changed.
Once you are logged in you will be on your “My Account” page and the contact details are on the right-hand side with a link to update your details.
We hope that you will find the enhanced features of our Keyways website helpful and thank you for your patience on Wednesday 16th March. If you experience any difficulty using the upgraded system, please contact our Keyways Teams. Contact details can be found on our Contact Us page on www.keyways.org.uk
