Building and Acquiring Sustainable Homes

We aim to build and acquire additional high quality, sustainable homes, which meet the needs and aspirations of customers, in balanced communities.

Here’s how we are doing…

Performance Measures

Key stats

Building and Acquiring Sustainable Homes – The year in review

Over the past year, we continued to grow the number of high-quality homes we provide. We delivered 73 new homes for affordable and social rent across Spennymoor, Ferryhill, Chilton, Bishop Auckland and Newton Aycliffe.

We also increased our use of low carbon technologies, including air source heat pumps and solar panels. These help reduce carbon emissions while making homes more energy efficient. This year, 58 homes were fitted with heat pumps and 57 with solar panels.

We invested £21.6 million to make sure each home is built to a high standard, with a strong focus on comfort, safety and affordability.
These homes are better insulated and designed to stay warmer, helping you feel more comfortable and manage energy costs.

As well as building new homes, we brought nine former Right to Buy properties back into our housing stock, helping meet local demand.

Overall, our housing stock continued to grow, allowing us to support more individuals and families. We also worked with partners and funders to secure future opportunities, helping us continue to deliver new homes where they are needed most.

We listened, we acted

We listened
(Air source heat pumps – complaints and targeted survey)
You told us you needed more support to understand and use heat pumps, especially when moving into a new home.

We acted
We delivered local demonstration events with our supplier and improved access to guidance, including FAQs and user guides.

We listened, we acted

We listened
(Encroachment procedure review – Tenant Network survey)
You told us you would like clearer information about what encroachment is, how to report it, and what to expect.

We acted
We created a new webpage explaining encroachment and how to report it. We also delivered training to help our teams identify and respond to issues more consistently.

Positive Feedback

It’s not just about improving; it’s about celebrating what works well too. Here’s some of your positive feedback:

Have you read our summarised policies?

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

Your Summarised Customer Policies

Consistently Delivering Excellent Customer Experience and Digital Services

Supporting Balanced and Sustainable Communities

Supporting Sustainable Tenancies

Providing Quality Sustainable Homes

Building and Acquiring Sustainable Homes

Maximising the Talent and Contribution of our People

Maintaining Strong Finances

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.