A mutual exchange is when you swap your home with another housing association or council tenant. In order to be eligible to do this, your tenancy needs to be an assured (secure) tenancy.

You will not be permitted to do a mutual exchange if any of the following statements apply:

• You have rent arrears
• We have started legal proceedings against you or you have a court order
• The property you are looking to exchange to has more or less bedrooms than your current bedroom need.
• You have damaged your property or carried out alterations without permission
• The property you are looking to exchange to has disabled adaptations that you don’t require
• The property you are looking to exchange to is sheltered accommodation and you don’t meet the age or medical requirements

• Register and search for swaps on Homeswapper.co.uk – this service is free to use for all bdht tenants.
• Advertise your interest through social media and local notice boards

When you accept a mutual exchange, you accept the property in the condition left by the outgoing tenant and you will need to sign a document to confirm this.

Before you agree to accept the property you should:

• Thoroughly inspect the property
• Check with the landlord what the rent is, what the tenancy type is and the conditions of the tenancy agreement
• Make sure you can afford to pay the rent in advance require upon completion of the exchange. This can be anywhere between 1-2 months rent. All applicants, including those in receipt of housing benefit or universal credit are required to pay this.

Make sure that you can afford the moving & running costs of the property

• Upon receipt of the completed application form, we have a 42 day legal timeframe to make a decision on whether to accept or refuse the exchange. However, this doesn’t mean the exchange process will be completed within 42 days
• If you are swapping with a non-bdht tenant we will request a reference from their landlord to check for rent arrears and any issues in their current tenancy
• Once we receive a satisfactory reference back, we will book in your property inspection. The tenant you are swapping with must also attend this inspection. If you have caused any damage to your property or carried out alterations without permission, you will need to put these right, at your own expense, before the exchange can be approved.
• Upon completion of a satisfactory property inspection we will arrange for a gas and electricity safety check to be carried out at your property

We cannot accept responsibility or take any action if any parties to the exchange change their mind before the legal documents are signed.

When the exchange is agreed, the properties are swapped by a legal document. This must be signed by both parties before the move takes place.

It is illegal to offer money or other goods to someone to secure an exchange.

If you move without written permission or before signing the legal documents, you will lose your security of tenure, which could leave you without a tenancy and you could become intentionally homeless.