Mutual exchanges enable two or more council or housing association tenants to swap properties. To do 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 an introductory tenant. If you are interested in doing an exchange but are not sure if you are able to, ask us or your landlord for more details.
Mutual exchanges can be a quicker and easier way to find a property, which is suitable for your needs and in the area that you require, than applying for a transfer. However, it relies on you doing the work to find a tenant who wishes to swap from their property to yours and then seeking the agreement of your landlords.
If you wish to exchange your home you can complete an advert form with details of your current property and your preferred property. Forms are available from the Housing Advice Centre. The advert will be displayed in the mutual exchange folders in the Housing Advice Centre. These folders are available to view during office opening hours. Click How to Contact Us for details. You may also wish to place an advert elsewhere, for example in local newsagents’ windows or the local paper. In the future it will be possible to view properties available for exchange on the Guildford HomeChoice website. We will let you know when you are able to do this.
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 wish to swap properties you must seek the agreement of the landlords concerned. 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 clear otherwise your landlord will not be able to agree to the exchange. You must also agree to accept the property in the condition that you see it.
For more detailed information click Mutual Exchanges.
If you wish to move outside the Guildford Borough area you may be interested in the Homeswapper scheme. Homeswapper is a UK-wide register of tenants seeking homeswaps. You can register online at www.homeswapper.co.uk (this page opens in a new window).
Homeswapper is a self-help scheme. You can search the website for homes you like and want to swap whenever you want. In addition, as other people register their home's details, these are compared to your requirements and if they match they will automatically be added to the "matches" section of your account. Homeswapper will also inform you regularly of new matches either by e-mail or text message. You must have permission from both landlords before swapping homes.