Exchanging your home
When two or more social housing tenants want to exchange their properties, this is known as a mutual exchange or a home swap. You can only do this after you have been given consent by all relevant landlords. You must also have an agreed date to sign documents and move house.
You cannot move into an empty home. Each tenant must move into the other tenants home, 'swapping' the properties at the same time.
For many tenants an exchange can be a quicker way of moving than applying for a transfer.
You can swap homes with any other council or housing association tenant that lives anywhere in the UK. Your swap doesn’t have to be in the area managed by the landlord you have now.
Check your tenancy to find out if you can swap
Mutual exchange is for tenants with:
- secure tenancy in council housing
- assured tenancy in a housing association home.
You will not be able to swap with a private housing tenant. Both homes need to be social housing properties.
Use HomeSwapper to find potential swaps
You can apply to exchange your home by joining HomeSwapper.
HomeSwapper is a website and app for tenants to find other social tenants who are looking to exchange homes. It lists properties throughout the country so you can move locally or further away.
As a Slough Borough Council tenant, you can register with HomeSwapper for free.
You can also download a free HomeSwapper app for iOS and Android mobile devices. This gives you instant access to your HomeSwapper account for quicker matches and messaging.
If you need help accessing the online register of properties to exchange, please visit a Community Hub.