Durham Key Options

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Welcome to Durham Key Options. This is the name for the Council's choice based lettings scheme used to allocate social housing across County Durham.

Durham Key Options is a partnership offering a more open and transparent system that will give you more choice in deciding where you want to live. You can view more information about our partners by visiting our partners' page on this website.

To apply for a property advertised through Durham Key Options, you must first complete an application form. You can do this online by clicking here.

Once you are registered and you have received your housing register reference number, you can then tell us which properties you are interested in. This is known as "bidding". All this term means is that you are advising us you wish to be considered for a property. You can search for and view properties that are currently being advertised, by clicking on the property search link at the top of this page.

Did you know you can place your bids by text to 07781 484604? This is an automated service and we are unable to respond to general queries.

Start a new text message on your mobile phone.
Enter your DKO housing reference number (six digits) followed by a space.
Enter your date of birth in the format ddmmyyyy followed by a space (eg for 30 January 1989, enter 30011989).
Enter the property reference number (5 digits) of the property you want to bid on, followed by a space.
If you are bidding on a second property enter the reference number for the second property, followed by a space.

Please note, there are no properties advertised on a Wednesday.

Properties are advertised on a weekly basis- these are called "letting cycles". The letting cycle starts each week on a Thursday at 12:01am and ends on the following Tuesday at 11:59pm. Bids can be placed at any time during the cycle. The cycle is closed on a Wednesday to allow the processing of bids made.

Please note, automatic bids for applicants who receive assistance when placing bids are placed immediately after the end of the letting cycle. This may mean that if you were in queue position 1 at midnight on a Tuesday, your position may change when the automatic bid is placed. If you have any queries about this, please contact your local Durham Key Options partner.

Latest news...

Private Lets

Please note that private lets are now advertised on the Durham key Options website. These can be found under the 'Property Search' tab by clicking on 'Private Rented'.

Looking Local: Smart phone application (app)

You can now search and bid for properties using the Looking Local smart-phone application (app). The app is available for Android smart-phones and iPhone. It can be downloaded from the Android market place or from iTunes. Alternatively you can scan the Quick Response (QR) code below using a QR reader app- this will automatically direct you to the app.

For android smart-phone users, scan: For iPhone users, scan:

Once you have installed the app, simply choose 'Service search' and enter the quick code DCC322, choose Housing, Find a Home and then login using your DKO reference number.

Housing Options Wizard

Social housing is in great demand and often people can wait a long time before being offered a Council owned property. The Housing Options Wizard explores alternative options to social housing that may make it quicker for you to move house.

Not all options are suitable for everyone and the Housing Options Wizard gives advice on which may be suitable for you. All you need do is answer a series of questions regarding your current circumstances and the Wizard will guide you through the options you can explore to enhance your housing situation.

To use the Housing Options Wizard please click here.

Some information on this site is in PDF format (Portable Document Format) To view these documents you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader.

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