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

Building and Acquiring Sustainable Homes

We aim to build and buy the right new homes in the right locations in our local area to ensure a mix of much needed homes designed to suit a range of needs.

During the year we invested £18.9 million in 206 new affordable rental homes for families and older persons in housing need. We completed new developments at Salters Lane, Sedgefield, Travellers Green, Newton Aycliffe, King William Court, Spennymoor and Southside, Ferryhill.

We are continuing to invest in, and learn from, new technologies including air source heat pumps which provide heating and hot water via a hot water tank, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, solar PV and increased thermal insulation / fabric efficiencies.

Local offer

We will provide you with safe, warm, high-quality and energy efficient homes. More local offers.

We listened

You wanted the process for reporting repairs in your new home to be easier.

We acted

We improved our process to provide our employees with the right information to ensure that we always provide new tenants with a good customer experience when reporting issues with repairs.

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Transforming customer experience and digital services Transforming customer experience and digital services

Planet A Planet A

Supporting sustainable places Supporting sustainable places

Supporting sustainable tenancies Supporting sustainable tenancies

Providing quality sustainable homes Providing quality sustainable homes

Building and acquiring sustainable homes Building and acquiring sustainable homes

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