Frequently asked questions

How do I apply for a Livin home or bungalow?

We advertise all of our available homes on our Find A Home page, simply visit this page for more information.

Before you can place a bid on one of our homes, you must first have an active account with the relevant Choice Based Lettings Scheme. Almost all our homes are located in County Durham and therefore are allocated through the Durham Key Options scheme. Durham Key Options (DKO) is a partnership between Durham County Council and landlords across County Durham.

We have a small number of homes which are located outside Durham, these are all advertised through Tees Valley HomeFinder, Hartlepool HomeSearch and Darlington HomeSearch; They are similar to Durham Key Options but we do not process applications registered for these schemes. If you wish to register an application for homes advertised in this area, please apply directly.

Once your application is approved, you will then be able to bid on homes that meet your needs. You can access the application form directly by visiting the relevant Choice Based Lettings system.

How long will it take for my application to be processed?

We aim to start processing your application within 10 working days. If we require any further information after this point, we will contact you to ask for this. Once we have received all the required information we will notify you of our decision within 20 days, and if accepted we will activate your account. You can also check your application status online by logging into the DKO portal.

How can I get involved with Livin and help to shape services?

To find out more about the different ways you can get involved, please visit our getting involved section.

Can I apply to buy my home under Right to Buy?

Tenants who have been with Livin since before the transfer from Sedgefield Council in 2009 may have the “Preserved Right to Buy” their property. Full details of the scheme are available on the Government Right to Buy website. If you are thinking of applying, please contact us.

Can I apply to buy my home under Right to Acquire?

If you have been a tenant for 3 or more years you may have the right to buy your property under the Right to Acquire scheme. Full details of the scheme are available on the Government Right to Acquire website. If you are thinking of applying, please contact us.

More FAQ's

Supporting Sustainable Places

We are committed to enabling and delivering strong and sustainable places, that support people to thrive.

We are an anchor in local communities and through investment can transform places through supplying new affordable homes, improving/modernising existing homes and supporting community development.

Local offer

We will carry out regular inspections of estates in our communities to make sure our homes and properties are maintained to a suitable standard. More local offers.

We are a successful placemaking organisation and drive significant investment into places. Our performance measures are used to track our progress and help direct our resources and target our work.

We recognise from our performance results that we must improve our approach to neighbourhood management and in supporting residents experiencing anti-social behaviour.

In 2021/22, we targeted improvements to our services by increasing estate inspection and neighbourhood management work which has resulted in increased satisfaction from the previous year, but we recognise there is still more work to do. During the year, we agreed a pledge with the Police and Crime Commissioner and other local housing providers to work closely together, share information and coordinate our work. We launched a proactive estate inspection programme, which is available on our website, and completed 72 inspections with residents and partners resolving 184 environmental issues within our communities.

Your feedback on anti-social behaviour tells us that regular communication and prompt responses to incidences of anti-social behaviour is key to improving pride of place and helping you feel safe in your community and we have improved our processes to do this more effectively.

We listened

Residents of Jubilee Fields Estate, Shildon said improvements were needed to the environment and housing on the estate to raise pride and create a beautiful place.

We acted

We have started investing £9 million in housing renewal on the estate that will deliver a range of affordable, energy efficient homes and safer modern estate design.

We listened

You told us you wanted access to IT, exercise classes, crafts, and games when we reopened our community spaces after covid restrictions.

We acted

We secured over £27,500 from Durham County Council to modernise our community spaces so they are digitally enabled, more accessible and Dementia Friendly for residents to use.