Building and Acquiring Sustainable Homes

We aim to build and acquire additional high quality, sustainable homes, which meet the needs and aspirations of tenants, in places where they are proud to live.

Here’s how we are doing…

Performance

Key stats

The year in review

Increasing the number of attractive, affordable and energy efficient homes has been an important area of focus for the year. With over 11,010 people registered on Durham Key Options, we recognise how important our role is in meeting housing need. To help meet this need, during the year we built or purchased 233 much needed new homes for social rent, affordable rent and Rent to Buy for families, older and disabled people. We also bought nine homes for affordable rent that were previously sold under the Rent to Buy scheme.

We completed new developments at Laburnum Grove, St Helen Auckland; High Grove, Wynyard; Middlestone Meadows, Spennymoor; Elwick Gardens, Hartlepool; Bracks Farm, Bishop Auckland; West Park, Darlington; Burdon Green, Coxhoe; Maple Avenue and Firtree, Shildon; Elizabeth Gardens, Spennymoor; and Elder Gardens, Newton Aycliffe.

We are continuing to invest and learn from new technologies, reducing the carbon emissions of our new homes and improving the thermal insulation and fabric efficiency. We have invested in new low carbon technologies, with 16% of our completed homes during the year fitted with air source heat pumps, and 12% of completed homes fitted with Solar PV.

We listened  (Complaints)

You wanted to be better informed on the use of air source heat pumps at the start of your tenancy, and for our operatives to be better trained.

We acted 

We have trained our Housing Advisors on how to operate air source heat pumps and to better understand the environmental benefits of low carbon heating systems.

We have trained Livin Works operatives on the repair issues associated with air source heat pumps.

We have added a FAQs section on air source heat pumps to our website, where you can also download user guides on your air source heat pump.

Since no further complaints have been made in relation to this issue.

We listened  (Customer Voice – Development policy survey)

You told us that moving into a new build home is exciting but can also be overwhelming when trying to find answers to common queries you may have.

We acted 

We developed a set of Frequently Asked Questions on our website to help answer some of the most common questions we receive from tenants in new build homes and make your move into your new home as easy as possible. For example, utility and internet connections, caring for your new garden, reporting repairs and arranging refuse collection.

Since the introduction of the new web page we have allocated 117 newly built homes and this page has been viewed 167 times.

Have you read our summarised policies?

We have summarised our customer policies to make them accessible and easy to read.

Summarised Customer Policies

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Transforming Customer Experience and Digital Services

Planet A

Supporting sustainable places

Supporting sustainable tenancies

Providing quality sustainable homes

Building and acquiring sustainable homes

Finance

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.