Swap your home with another social housing tenant
Who can swap their social housing home
If you rent social housing, you have the right to exchange your property. Please note, if you have assured shorthold tenancy or non-secure tenancy, you cannot exchange your home.
Your housing landlord can refuse your request if you, or the tenants you’re swapping with:
- is a new tenant
- has been given a notice of seeking possession
- has been served a possession order
- is moving into a property that is too big (the accommodation is substantially larger than is reasonably required by the occupant) or too small, or doesn’t meet your needs
- is moving into a property reserved for older or disabled people, and you don’t meet these criteria
- has paid money to other party to exchange
Challenge a decision
If your request to swap houses is refused, you have the right to appeal against the decision. You can submit an appeal by writing to us.
How to swap your home
To swap your social housing, you need to register with HomeSwapper to submit information about your home and search for available properties. Once you find a property you like, you need to complete an online application form on our Resident Portal. After we receive your application, we will let you know if we can grant permission for the swap.
We can approve the swap quickly if neither party has:
- rent arrears
- breached their tenancy conditions
Before we approve a swap, we will:
- Review tenancy records
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Carry out an inspection of your home
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Obtain information from the proposed incoming tenant’s landlord
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Get approval from senior managers to approve or deny the proposed exchange
- If agreed, we will then arrange for the deeds of assignment to be signed by both parties
A decision will be made within 42 days of your application. However, the exchange and signing of the deeds may take longer.