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Frequently asked questions

How do I apply for a Livin home?

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.

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 Durham Key Options. If you’re still unsure how to do this, you can watch our helpful video which talks you through the process.

We have a small number of homes which are located outside Durham, these are all advertised through the Compass Choice Based Lettings scheme in Teesside; Compass is similar to Durham Key Options but we do not process applications registered for this scheme. If you wish to register an application for homes advertised in this area, please apply directly with Compass.

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.

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.

Giving feedback

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

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How do I make a complaint?

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 and you won't be penalised for doing so and it will not affect your tenancy.

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What if I'm not satisfied with the response?

If you have been through our full complaints process and are still not happy with the outcome you are entitled to make a complaint to the Housing Ombudsman. The Housing Ombudsman will investigate fairly and impartially.

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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

Video resources on using the complaints process (Housing Ombudsman Service)

We listened, we acted

You can share your views about us to help improve the services we provide. Last year we listened to feedback and opinions from more than 5,000 tenants and customers to help us improve our services.

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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.

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We are now members of TPAS, England’s leading tenant engagement experts. They are dedicated to improving tenant engagement standards across the country. They do this by bringing tenants, landlords and contractors together through independent and impartial advice, support, consultancy and training.

A membership with TPAS will give you a voice and means you will be provided with ongoing support and guidance on how to get involved or to lead activity in your community.

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