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

Our local offers

We worked with over 400 of our tenants to help shape five pledges known as local offers to improve services that are important to them.

Our performance

We will give you information about our performance targets across all of our most important service areas.

Performance detail Performance detail

Man in a wheelchair at one of our communal lounges

Complaints and feedback

We value what you have to say to us and we will always be polite to you. We will give you clear information about what to do if you are not happy with our services, and use your feedback to make improvements.

Complaints and feedback Complaints and feedback

Helping you in looking after your home

We will provide you with safe, warm, and energy efficient homes.

Looking after your home Looking after your home

Your community

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

Community Community

Contact us

We will always try to answer queries at the first point of contact, and when this is not possible, we let you know who will be dealing with your query and provide updates until the query is resolved.

Getting in touch with us Getting in touch with us

2022/23 Annual Report

How we perform against these local offers is published in our annual report.

Read our 2022/23 Annual Report Read our 2022/23 Annual Report