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

Customer Voice in 2023/24

We encourage customer feedback, place listening to our customers at the heart of what we do and, ensure our arrangements enable tenants to engage and influence in a meaningful way to continuously improve services.

Here’s how we are doing…

Performance

Tenant Satisfaction Measures

83.04%

Satisfaction that the landlord listens to tenant views and acts upon them (TP06)

Key stats

The year in review

We have increased the opportunities you have to influence how services are delivered by introducing the “InsightXchange” our new tenant scrutiny forum, in October 2023. Our InsightXchange forum meets with us several times throughout the year to scrutinise our services, using insight from what you, our tenants are telling us. Together we decide what can be done to improve our services.

We also listen and act on feedback you send us through satisfaction surveys and your contacts with us. We received over 9,000 survey responses and have held 13 focus group events with tenants to review services and policies across a range of service areas including repairs and maintenance, community funding grants and aids and adaptations. We have used our customer voice to influence the development/revision of 14 policies in the year including a new Customer Vulnerability Policy, which sets out how we aim to provide services that are accessible for everyone and that you are treated fairly and with respect. We have also improved the cleaning contract for communal areas based on your feedback to keep your communal areas clean and safe.

We thank everyone who engaged with us in 2023/24 to help us improve the experience our customers receive.

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