Mutual exchange

You are making a commitment to taking on a property ‘as seen’, so before committing to swapping homes with another customer, make sure you can answer Yes to all of the following questions: 

• Do you have a clear rent account?
• Is your home and garden in good condition and have you reported any necessary repairs?
• Do you have an assured tenancy?
• Can you confirm that you have not been served with a notice of seeking possession in the last 12 months?
• Do you have the full name, address and landlord details for the people you wish to exchange with?
• Have the people who you want to exchange with been to view your home?
• Have you viewed the property you want to move in to and agree to accept it ‘as seen’?
• Is the property large enough to meet the needs of you and your family?
• Is it in the right location?
• Can you afford to pay the weekly rent and charges on the new property?
• If the property you are moving into has any adaptations e.g. level access shower etc, do you have a medical need for them?
• If you are the incoming customer, can you pay the first rent payment on the new property?

If you answered ‘No’ to any of the above, then you should not apply for a mutual exchange as we will not give permission. 

If you can answer ‘Yes’ to all the above questions, please remember that you will be taking on a new tenancy in the condition you have seen it. This means that any non-standard repairs that you find with the property or the garden after you have moved in are your responsibility.  

To find someone to exchange your home with, register on HomeSwapper.  

This free online service will help you find other customers who are also looking for a mutual exchange. You can log on and search the site for a match. You don’t have to exchange with another one of our customers. Exchanges can be made with customers of other Councils and Housing Associations across the country. 

When you apply to join HomeSwapper they will ask us to approve your application. We will not approve any request to join HomeSwapper if you currently owe rent arrears or other debt. (Please note that a clear rent account will be required before any permission for an exchange will be given). You can also place adverts in local papers or shops asking for someone to exchange with. 

If you think you have found an exchange partner, you need to apply using Swap Tracker.

While we would not unreasonably refuse a request to exchange, the main reasons we would refuse a request to exchange other than those listed above are as follows: 

• If your home is too large or too small for the people moving in
• If your home is linked to your work
• If your home is suitable for people with special needs, which the person you want to swap with does not have
• Where you will not meet our lettings criteria for existing schemes 
• We have undertaken a pre-tenancy check and based on your income we are not satisfied that you can afford to take on the property. 

Once we have received completed application forms from both parties, through Swap Tracker, we will arrange a home visit, to survey your home and discuss your request in more detail. We will also visit the home of the person you wish to exchange with.

Once we have visited you and received all the information, we will consider your application and we have up to 42 days to make our decision. 

We will write and let you know if we can approve the exchange; this may include adding conditions that need to be met before the exchange can proceed.  

When exchanging you are taking on the other person’s property “as seen”. This means that you will be responsible for the condition of the new property. 

We will:

• Expect you to maintain the property and garden in a reasonable condition
• Expect you to keep your rent account up to date
• Expect you and the members of your household not to cause any nuisance or annoyance to your neighbours

Please remember that your exchange will be declined if you can clearly cannot afford to sustain a tenancy once pre-tenancy checks have been completed.  

We will not:

• Allow you to move without having to given our permission
• Decorate the property you move into
• Pay your moving costs
• Deal with complaints you have about the condition that the previous customer left the property in.

Once we've received forms from all parties, we've got 42 days to make a decision and at this point the process will begin.

The exchange date will be agreed once we've approved your application and completed all necessary checks.

All gas and electric checks will be booked in following the approval of an application to exchange.

From approval to completion of checks, we anticipate this is likely to be approximately three to four weeks.

We may not have received forms from all parties. In the first instance, please confirm with your exchange party/parties if they've submitted an application to all landlords involved.

We need to carry out gas and electric checks once an application to exchange has been approved.

We expect it to take between three and four weeks from approving an application to exchange to completing the checks.

Once we've received forms from all parties, we've got 42 days to make a decision and at this point the process will begin.

The exchange date will be agreed once we've approved your application and completed all necessary checks.

We'd advise against booking and paying for removals without first having a move date agreed by all landlords involved in the exchange.

We may not have received all forms relating to the application, or we may not have yet completed all the checks we need to in order to approve your request to exchange with us.

All updates relating to your exchange will be shared with you via the Lettings Team.

It's down to the landlords involved in a Mutual Exchange application to organise a mutually agreeable date to exchange.

We'll consider personal circumstances of all parties involved when setting a move date.

Your landlord doesn't need to use SwapTracker for you to complete an application to exchange with a Longhurst Group customer.

If you're a Longhurst Group customer and meet the criteria to exchange, this service is free.

Other landlords may have a different policy. However, the use of SwapTracker is free to all customers completing an exchange with Longhurst Group.

If you're struggling to access your HomeSwapper account, please contact HomeSwapper in the first instance. This is also the case if you're locked out of your account.

If you don't have internet access, please contact our Customer Services Team who'll arrange for a member of the Lettings Team to contact you.

Once we've received forms from all parties, we've got 42 days to make a decision and at this point the process will begin.

We'll always endeavour to make a decision sooner than 42 days where it's possible to do so.