Preventing and Tackling Fraud

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

Preventing and Tackling Fraud

We adopt a zero tolerance approach to Fraud and we will:

Always verify the identification and eligibility of any customer before granting a tenancy with us
Ask for further verification throughout the duration of the tenancy
Act upon any relevant information of suspected fraud
Work in partnership with statutory services such as the local authority to prevent and resolve tenancy fraud
Seek to recover losses, homes and terminate tenancies where fraud has occurred

Between April 2023 and March 2024 we worked with Durham County Council to investigate 34 reports of tenancy fraud.

If you suspect someone is committing fraud, please report this by using one of the below methods.

Read the full Anti-Fraud, Bribery and Corruption policy or our summarised version.

Fraud against us

Report tenancy fraud Report tenancy fraud

If you suspect someone is committing fraud against us, please report it using our form above. You can also report fraud against us on our designated fraud line 01388 424 679 (This is for reporting fraud against us only)

Fraud against DCC

Contact DCC Contact DCC

If you suspect someone is committing fraud against Durham County Council, please report this above.

Housing benefit fraud

Contact DWP Contact DWP

You can report suspected housing benefit fraud to the Department for Work and Pensions.

Types of tenancy fraud include:

Unlawful subletting - Where a tenant rents out their home without the knowledge or permission of the landlord.

Wrongly claimed succession - Where the resident dies and someone tries to succeed the tenancy which they are not entitled to.

False right to buy/right to acquire - Where a tenant makes a Right to Buy or Right to Acquire application and provides false information.

Key selling - Where a resident passes on their keys in return for payment.

Unlawful assignment - Where a tenant stops using their tenancy as their main home and allows another person to live there without permission from Livin Housing.

Obtaining housing by deception - Where a person gets a home by providing false information on their housing application.

Abandonment – Abandoning the property without Livin’s knowledge and without completing the correct tenancy termination forms.