Customer Feedback and Complaints

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 Feedback and Complaints

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.

Read our guide to giving feedback here.

Read the full Complaints, Compliments and Feedback, Customer Vulnerability and Customer Voice and Engagement policy or our summarised version.

Complaints, Compliments and Feedback Policy Complaints, Compliments and Feedback Policy Customer Vulnerability Policy Customer Vulnerability Policy

Giving feedback

If someone has gone over and above, or you have a general compliment or suggestion, we'd love to hear from you.

Give feedback Give feedback

Making a complaint

If it's the first time you are contacting us we will always aim to fix your problem in the first instance but if you are still unhappy with the service you have received from us then we want to know so that we can make changes and stop these problems from happening again.

Make a complaint Make a complaint

Our Performance and Service Improvement Report

The Housing Ombudsman require us to produce an annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report for scrutiny and challenge. Read our most recent reports using the button below.

Read our 2023/24 reports Read our 2023/24 reports

The Housing Ombudsman

If you are unhappy with the service you are receiving from us, you can make a complaint. You should make your complaint to us in the first instance or seek advice from the Housing Ombudsman before if you want to. You won't be penalised for doing so and it will not affect your tenancy.

The Housing Ombudsman The Housing Ombudsman

Annual self-assessment

As a member of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme we are required to complete a self-assessment against the Complaints Handling Code and publish the results here every year. Our latest self-assessment was completed in June 2024 with involvement with our Member Responsible for Complaints and our InsightXchange.

Our self assessment Our self assessment

Make Things Right: Social housing complaints campaign

The Government recently launched the ‘Make Things Right’ campaign, which is designed to empower residents in making their voices heard when they have problems with their home.

Make Things Right Make Things Right

Where can I find more information on the complaints process?

The Charter and the action the government is taking to support you is set out in the Social Housing White Paper.

There is also a range of independent information that can give you help and guidance on the social housing complaints process:

Advice for complaining to your Housing Association (Shelter)

Complaints about repairs (Citizen’s Advice Bureau)

The types of complaints the Housing Ombudsman covers

The role of the Regulator and Housing Ombudsman The role of the Regulator and Housing Ombudsman

We listened, we acted

We use learning from our complaints to identify where we need to do things better to get it right first time or where we need to investigate further.

Find out more Find out more

Getting involved

There are a number of ways you can get involved to help us to improve services to tenants. All of our opportunities are voluntary and you can get involved as much, or as little, as you would like.

Find out more Find out more