Exchanging your home

Exchanging your home

Most tenants have a legal right to swap their home, but to do so you must first get permission from Six Town Housing. You may be able to swap your home with another Bury Council tenant, a council tenant from another area or a housing association tenant.

Swapping your home

Swapping your home with another tenant is known as a ‘mutual exchange’.

You may not be able to swap homes if:  

• The home you want to move to is much larger than you need, has been adapted for people with special needs or is designated for use by a particular group such as older people; 
• The swap would cause overcrowding;
• The condition of either property is unacceptable; or
• You or the tenant you want to swap with has broken the conditions of their tenancy agreement such as missing rent payments or causing anti-social behaviour.

It is illegal to offer money or goods to persuade someone to swap homes with you. You will be expected to sign a form confirming that no money has changed hands.

Six Town Housing recommends using HomeSwapper for exchanging your home. HomeSwapper is a mutual exchange website used by social housing landlords and associations across the UK.

Through HomeSwapper you can easily navigate a database of properties uploaded by others that match the house type, size and location you are looking for. It enables you to connect with others in homes you like, who might be interested in your current property, so that you can make arrangements to "exchange" your homes with permission of your social landlords.

Start searching on the HomeSwapper website now and register to upload details of your home so that you can arrange an exchange.

HomeSwapper has also provided resources to help you swap your home. Read their top 10 tips for a successful swap and how to upload a photo to get your home noticed.

Please note: it is important to select "Assured" and "Secure" properties (as below) when running a search to see the homes that you will be able to arrange an exchange for.

Things to consider

Before you decide to exchange your property with someone else, take the time to consider the following few points:

1. Find out more about the home you want to move to

Once you have found someone you may want to swap homes with, you should try to find out as much as you can about why they want to move and what is involved before you agree to swap.

2. Changes in rent and tenancy conditions

Different landlords can have different tenancy conditions and charge different rents. The rent you currently pay may be more or less than the rent of the person you are swapping with. You should check both rent and tenancy conditions with the new landlord before deciding to swap homes.

3. Repairs to your new home

Your new landlord may not redecorate before you move into your new home. We will not redecorate or give any decorating vouchers to customers who exchange. You must discuss any repairs with the landlord before you agree to swap. Do not rely on advice from the person moving out that the repairs will be done.

If you swap with another Bury tenant, you agree to accept the property in its current state.

We will only do emergency repairs and health and safety work.

4. Buying your new home

Some homes cannot be bought by tenants. If the chance to buy your home is important to you, please discuss this with your new landlord before you agree to swap. The right to buy does not apply to some housing association tenancies or certain types of accommodation, such as properties designated for older people.

Please complete this application form if, after reading ‘Things to consider’, you wish to exchange your property.