Durham County Council has changed the Council Tax Reduction Scheme. From 1 April 2026, all working‑age residents will need to contribute towards their Council Tax.

We want to make sure you have the right advice and support. If you’re unsure how these changes might affect you, or what to do next, please contact Durham County Council on 03000 262 0000.

Home Safety

We have a legal responsibility to carry out regular checks to ensure that your home is safe and efficient.

Read the full Electrical Safety, Asbestos and Fire Safety policy or our summarised versions.

Electrical Safety Summarised Policy Asbestos Summarised Policy Fire Safety Summarised Policy

Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors

Most of our homes are fitted with smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, which are tested during your annual gas safety check. It is important that these are checked on a weekly basis by pressing the ‘test’ button.

You should never disconnect or remove the batteries from your smoke or carbon monoxide detectors. Should you have any issues with your smoke alarm or carbon monoxide detector, please get in touch and we will send an engineer to your home.

Report a repair Your smoke alarms Download My Livin - iPhone Download My Livin - Android

Gas safety checks

The safety of you and your family is our priority. By law we have to make sure that a gas safety check is carried out in your home every year. The annual service also provides us with an opportunity to carry out routine preventative maintenance that helps to minimise any inconvenient breakdowns.

Gas servicing page

What to do if you smell gas

Turn off your gas supply immediately and open your windows and doors. Do not turn any electrical switches on or off, light matches or lighters. Immediately ring The National Gas Emergency Services on 0800 111 999, they will come to your home and make it safe.

Call 0800 111 999

Electrical safety

We need you to be safe in your home which is why we must carry out regular electrical maintenance checks.

We send a qualified competent electrician who will undertake a periodic inspection to create an Electrical Inspection Condition Report (EICR).

View electricity check information

Home lift maintenance

We know that you rely on your lift daily to move around your home. To keep it in good working order we need to carry out regular servicing and maintenance to avoid breakdowns.

We will visit your home four times a year. Two visits will be by our maintenance contractor Thyssenkrupp, a further two visits will be carried out by our insurers appointed inspector Bureau Veritas. If you have any issues with your stairlift, please let us know.

Get in touch

Water hygiene

All water systems within our homes naturally contain bacteria. Under certain conditions, the bacteria can grow, which can cause illness. A common water bacterium is Legionella, which can be fatal if small droplets of contaminated water are inhaled. However, the risks of legionella in your home are low based on regular water usage and turnover.

It is important that you do not interfere with your boiler temperature. This should be set at 60°C to ensure that hot water in your system remains hot. Keep shower heads and taps clean and free from limescale and mould and descale shower heads at least every 3 months. We recommend making sure taps, showers and toilets are flushed at least once a week to ensure water is kept circulating.

If you'd like to speak to us about water hygiene in your home, please contact us.

Get in touch

Communal areas

We inspect all of our communal areas at least once a year to check that they are safe. You may see our Health and Safety team checking that:

There are no obvious fire hazards e.g. blocked fire escapes or flammable items stored in the hallways
Fire safety equipment e.g. extinguishers, emergency lighting, are present where necessary
Fire doors are working correctly and are in good condition
Any asbestos present is safe i.e. not damaged or disturbed
There are no general health and safety hazards present e.g. loose tiles that could cause a fall

If you see any safety hazards in communal areas, please let us know so we can fix them.

Get in touch

Asbestos in your home

Most of our homes built before the year 2000 contain some asbestos, often in ceilings and floor tiles. Asbestos does not usually present a health risk unless it is disturbed (e.g. by drilling) or damaged (for example by fire or water damage).

When you move into your home, if it contains asbestos, we will give you a copy of the asbestos information that we hold for the property. If you ask us to do any repairs, we will check the asbestos information we hold to ensure that we do so safely.

It is important that you contact us before undertaking any work that could potentially damage or disturb asbestos containing materials in your home.

If you notice that you have disturbed or damaged any asbestos in your home, please report it to us and we will assess the risk level and may undertake further checks to make sure that your home is safe.

If planned improvement works or major repairs are needed in your home, a more in-depth asbestos survey might be required. Our contractors will take small samples from your walls, ceilings or floors, which will be tested in a laboratory for asbestos. We will contact you to arrange this.

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.