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. Alternatively you can contact the scheme partner operating in the area which you live, contact details can be found by clicking here.
Once you are registered and you have received your housing register reference number (PIN), you can then tell us which properties you are interested in. This is known as ‘bidding’. Do not worry about the terms "bid" and "bidding", you will not be parting with money or be asked to take part in an auction. All these terms mean you are advising us you wish to be considered for a property.
To enable us to provide a more efficient service,please only ‘bid’ for properties you are genuinely interested in.
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.
**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…..
Furniture Deals
The Northern Housing Consortium have launched the Smarterbuys website.
The site offers massively reduced prices on essential household items including white goods and furniture. Over 80 housing providers, representing in excess of 1m tenants, have already signed up to support the scheme. The site is aimed at social housing residents and those on lower incomes but is free for all to use.
As well as links to credit unions, the site also allows users to pay online or offline, by printing out a barcode and taking it to a PayPoint or Post Office. The discounted prices on Smarterbuys- often over 50 percent off RRP- are achieved on the basis of the potential volume of purchases through the site.
You can visit the site at www.smarterbuys.org.uk
New 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.
Why not try it now?
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 (PIN).
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.
Durham County Council Private Landlord Initiatives team
Durham County Council may also be able to help secure private rented accommodation for you, if you are interested please click here for details.
Some information on this site is in PDF format (Portable Document Format) To view these documents you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader.