Swapping your home with another customer or housing association tenant is called a mutual exchange. You’ll need permission from both landlords before you can move. This can be a great way to find a home that better suits your needs, but there are a few things to check first.

Eligibility

You can apply for a mutual exchange if:

  • you’re one of our customers, or
  • you have an assured tenancy with a registered social landlord

If you're not sure whether this applies to you, contact your landlord. If you're one of our customers, get in touch and we’ll help you check.

You cannot apply if:

  • you're on a starter or introductory tenancy
  • you have rent arrears
  • you've made changes to your home without our permission

If you’re not sure what type of tenancy you have, please contact your neighbourhood coach. If you’re behind with payments, speak to your income management advisor. If you've made changes to your home, you should ask for retrospective permission.

Extra bedrooms

If your new home would have more bedrooms than our sharing criteria allow, you must provide evidence for why you need the extra room. We accept:

  • medical evidence explaining the need and impact
  • confirmation of mid to high rate DLA/PIP, Carer’s or Attendance Allowance
  • a benefits provider letter confirming support for the extra room
  • confirmation from your local authority agreeing you need the extra room

Legal rights

If you have the Right to Buy or Right to Acquire, you might lose these when moving to a different tenancy type.

If you're on an affordable rent agreement, your rent might change after an exchange. This could affect your swap partner's decision. We’ll let you know about any rent changes early in the process.

Both you and your swap partner must get written permission from your landlords before you can move. If you’re a Secure Tenancy holder, please seek advice first. You could lose some rights, as we don’t currently offer that tenancy type.

Do not move without permission. Doing so can result in eviction.

 

Find someone to swap with

Register for free at HomeSwapper. Once you’ve registered, we’ll review your application and respond within two weeks. We’ll send you an email once we’ve made a decision.

If you don’t sign into your account for three months, it will expire and you’ll need to re-register.

 

View the property

Make sure you visit the property before you agree to move. It's important to know what you're committing to - it’ll be your new home.

 

Submit your application

To start the process, you and your swap partner will both need to fill in a mutual exchange application form. 

We can only legally approve an exchange if:

  • you’ve completed your starter tenancy (if applicable)

  • your rent and any other charges are up to date

  • any unauthorised alterations have been removed or approved

  • you’ve provided evidence for any extra bedrooms that fall outside our criteria

Download the mutual exchange form

What happens after you apply

We have up to 42 days to decide on a mutual exchange. This timescale only starts once we’ve received completed forms from both you and your swap partner.

We’ll arrange a property inspection which will take around two hours. Our gas and electric engineers will attend to carry out safety checks. If we find any damage you’ve caused, you’ll need to repair it before the move.

We’ll contact your swap partner for a phone interview, and arrange a home visit with them.

We’ll keep you updated on progress, you do not need to chase us.

 

On the day of the exchange

We’ll arrange a time for you and your swap partner to meet with our neighbourhood coach at the property. You’ll sign the paperwork then.

You must not move until the paperwork is signed. Moving without written approval can lead to eviction. Always wait for official confirmation before you go ahead.

You can cancel your exchange at any point before the agreement is signed.

 

Other things to know

Moving costs

You’ll need to cover all the costs of your move, which will usually be hundreds of pounds. Make sure you think about these before you apply.

No money offers

Offering or accepting money to speed up or agree a mutual exchange is illegal. It could lead to eviction.

Exchanging again in future

You can ask to exchange again, even if you’ve already done so in the past.

Why your exchange might be refused

We may refuse your exchange for legal reasons, including:

  • you have unpaid rent or have broken your tenancy agreement
  • there's a court order for possession
  • the home is unsuitable for the new household
  • the home has adaptations the new customer does not need

For a full list of legal reasons, see the relevant housing legislation or contact us.

Appeals

If we refuse your request, you have the right to appeal. Write to our lettings team leader with any information that supports your case:

Lettings Team Leader
1 Venture Court
Wolverhampton
WV106TB

You can also speak to your neighbourhood coach, find their contact details on our contact us page.