Mutual exchange

Mutual exchange

To support residents to move house, we offer and support mutual exchanges. A mutual exchange allows you to ‘swap’ your home with another council or housing association resident.

Who can apply?

We allow all of our residents to apply for a mutual exchange. But reasons we may refuse these include:

  • You owe rent
  • You are in the process of being evicted (having your tenancy ended early)
  • The property you want to move to has more bedrooms than you need
  • The property you want to move to is too small – moving in would make it overcrowded
  • The property you want to move to has disabled adaptations which you do not need
  • There are special conditions on who lives in the property
  • Your tenancy does not allow a mutual exchange

More information about the mutual exchange process can be found here.


How do I find an exchange?

You will need to find a suitable property to swap with. We recommend that you register with House Exchange, where you can advertise your home and view available properties free of charge.

Before you agree to accept the property you find, you should:

  • Thoroughly inspect the property. These are generally accepted as seen, so make sure you’re happy with the condition before you accept this
  • Check with the new landlord what the rent is
  • What the type of tenancy is and the conditions of the tenancy agreement
  • Make sure you can afford the moving costs and heating and running costs of the new home

Making an application

Once you have found someone who you want to exchange with, you must apply for permission (and receive this back in writing). You can apply to begin the process here: 

Mutual exchange application form

What happens next?

From the point of receiving all application forms, we have up to 6 weeks to advise you if any of the grounds are preventing your move. This is to confirm we are allowing or rejecting the exchange to proceed, it is not the final decision.

Our aim is to complete all exchanges within 10 weeks, and we will keep you informed throughout the process if this needs to change.

We will not allow an exchange to complete if the property is in an unsafe and or poor condition. We may require you to complete or pay for works to repair damage, replace missing fittings or return your home to a standard condition.


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