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Mutual Exchange

Swapping your home with another tenant whose landlord is a local authority, a registered Housing Association, or Housing Trust anywhere in the country is called a mutual exchange. This is often the quickest way to find alternative accommodation. 

As we are a small Housing Association with limited stock, transferring to another WPH property if your current home no longer meets your needs can take a very long time. The waiting list for an internal transfer is very long and can often take years to find a suitable home. A mutual exchange may be a quicker option if you wish to move as you can access a wider range of properties that may suit your needs. 

Women’s Pioneer Housing are registered with HomeSwapper, a mutual exchange service for social housing residents. HomeSwapper allows you to search for possible swaps, get in touch with other residents, and independently arrange viewings until you find the right home for you. As we are registered with HomeSwapper, you can register, browse homes, and find what’s right for you for free. 

Register for HomeSwapper

To begin looking for a mutual exchange, please register at HomeSwapper using the link below. Provide a few details about you, your home, and the home you’re looking for. 

After submitting these details, we will approve your request to begin browsing for a mutual exchange, and you can search for thousands of homes across the UK.

Click here for HomeSwapper

What Happens Next?

After submitting these details, we will approve your request to begin browsing for a mutual exchange, and you can search for thousands of homes across the UK.  

Once you have found a resident to swap with and you have viewed each other’s home, we request you contact our customer services team to request a Mutual Exchange Form.  

Please ensure you are swapping properties with a woman as we are a housing association dedicated to housing single independent women. 

To be eligible for a mutual exchange, please note you must not have rent arrears or be on a starter tenancy. 

If you want to learn more about what to expect in a mutual exchange, please access our Tenant Information Guide on Mutual Exchanges here.

Frequently Asked Questions

An assured, secure or fixed-term tenant can exchange with any woman currently housed by a Housing Association, Housing Trust or local authority anywhere in the country. You can find people to exchange with on HomeSwapper for free. 

Once you have found another tenant to swap with and you are both happy to exchange properties, you will both need to request approval from your landlords for the mutual exchange to go ahead. To request this from us, please contact us for a Mutual Exchange Form. 

Once you have submitted the Mutual Exchange Form to us at Women’s Pioneer, we have 42 days from the date we receive your application form to make a decision to approve or reject the mutual exchange. 

  • We will check certain details before agreeing to the exchange, this may include: 
    • Reviewing your rent account to ensure there are no arrears and no possession order on your home 
    • Check the condition of your home 
    • Consider any history of ASB 
    • Ensure the size and type of property you wish to move to meets your requirements. 
    • Any adaptations are suitable for the incoming tenant.
    • While we look into these details, the other tenant you wish to swap with will undergo a similar process with their landlord.
    • If all checks are satisfactory and both landlords approve the exchange, we will write to confirm our decision. If the exchange is not approved, the reasons for this decision will be provided. 
  • If all checks are satisfactory and both landlords approve the exchange, we will write to confirm our decision. If the exchange is not approved, the reasons for this decision will be provided. 

When all conditions for the mutual exchange to go ahead have been met, we will schedule a date and time to sign documents and formally exchange tenancies. Both you and the other tenant will sign documents to agree to assign your tenancies to each other and accept the terms and conditions of the tenancy. These are important documents and must be signed before you formally move properties. 

Mutual exchanges differ from an internal transfer as you will most likely move to a property managed by a different housing association or local authority. It is important to note the landlord will not usually redecorate between the swap taking place. 

Discuss any repairs to your property or any that you notice in the property you wish to move to with the landlord before you agree to swap. 

Understand what type of tenancy agreement the person you wish to swap with has. Different landlords offer different tenancy conditions and charge different rents so it is important to understand these differences.