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

Your Community

We work closely with tenants, residents, local community groups and a variety of other partners to build safe and stronger places for people to live, work and play.

Read the full Neighbourhood and Communities policy or our summarised version.

Read summarised policy Read summarised policy

Livin staff and members of the community together in a shared hall

Jubilee Fields Estate, Shildon

Working with the community and our partners we are delivering place-based improvements that meet the needs of residents and their families.

Jubilee Fields Estate, Shildon Jubilee Fields Estate, Shildon

Livin staff and members of the community standing in front of a fire engine

Newton Aycliffe West Improvements

We plan to deliver with the community place-based economic, social and physical regeneration on the Western Estate, Newton Aycliffe to sustain the community, improve 'pride in the place' and transform the housing offer.

Newton Aycliffe West Improvements Newton Aycliffe West Improvements

Anti-social behaviour

If you are experiencing anti-social behaviour or wish to report an incident that has occurred, we can help.

Anti-social behaviour Anti-social behaviour

Estate inspections

We carry out regular inspections of estates in our communities to make sure our homes and properties are maintained to a suitable standard. We check internal and external communal areas, gardens that belong to our tenants, and we look out for abandoned vehicles and fly tipping.

Our estate inspection programme is available below and we really encourage you, residents and community stakeholders to come along and take part. The programme includes the start time and location of every inspection.

In 2023/24, we carried out 108 estate inspections across 29 areas and identified 54 new anti-social behaviour cases related to tenant garden condition, 450 fly tipping cases and 8 abandoned vehicles. Find the latest estate inspection findings for 2024/25 below:

Estate inspection programme Estate inspection programme Estate inspection findings Estate inspection findings

Community grants

We have aligned our Livin Community Grant funding programme to help meet our key place-making objectives outlined in our Plan A.

Community grants Community grants

Community spaces

Our community spaces are accessible and available to all our tenants. We offer a range of activities in our buildings, for all ages and abilities from youth sessions to employability courses. We can also provide you with venues for your own activities.

Community spaces Community spaces

Our sustainability journey

We are committed to taking positive climate and ecological action through our Planet A Strategy. We are embedding environmental sustainability into all our operations to reduce our environmental impacts and carbon emissions.

Environmental Sustainability Environmental Sustainability

Open spaces, trees and grass cutting

We want our communities to be attractive places to live, so we work hard to keep open spaces looking neat and tidy.

Open spaces, trees and grass cutting Open spaces, trees and grass cutting

Previous improvements and regeneration projects

Find out more about the successful improvement projects we have completed in the past at York Hill, Spennymoor and Travellers Green, Newton Aycliffe.

Previous projects Previous projects