Mutual Exchanges

Exchanging homes between tenants

The Homechoice partnership wants to make it easier for tenants of councils and housing associations to find an exchange match. For those who would be in a low priority band, this might be the quickest way of getting a move to the type of property or area they want.

IMPORTANT:To take part in an exchange this you must be a secure council tenant or an assured housing association tenant. You will not be able to do an exchange if you are still an introductory tenant. If you are interested in an exchange but are not sure if you can, ask your housing association or council for more details.Click How to Contact Us  for details.

The service is NOT available to tenants of Private Landlords.

 

To maximize the chances of local tenants finding an exchange match, Homechoice is working with Homeswapper to get as many housing associations as possible to be members of the Homeswapper Service. Tenants of these housing landlords will be able to register their details on the Homeswapper web site for free. If your landlord has not joined Homeswapper, you can still register to get exchange matches but there will be a charge.

Click here to check if your landlord has joined.

Once you have registered you will be able to search for exchanges across the whole of the country and receive details of other tenants who live in the type of property and area you are interested in. You can receive this information by e-mail or by text message to your mobile phone. It is then up to you to decide whether to contact the other tenants about an exchange. Good Luck!

Click here to register 

If you have already registered for an exchange with your council’s Homechoice service, this part of the service is now being phased out and as a result will be switched off in July 2009. You need to register again on the Homeswapper web site.

What do I do if I find an exchange match?

If you find a suitable property that you are interested in it is up to you to contact the other tenant(s) and make the necessary arrangements to look at each other’s properties. If you decide that you want to go ahead with a swap, you must get the agreement of both the housing association or council landlords. You must not arrange to move until your landlord tells you that you can. The proposed properties must be suitable for each household’s needs and the rent accounts of all the parties concerned must be up to date. You must also agree to accept the property in the condition that you see it.