The Exchangers' "Handover Note" - How do I know what to tell them?

Before you leave your home, write a short welcome note for the household moving in, and ask them to do the same for you. It takes half an hour, and it saves the new tenants days of guessing.

That is the thing mutual exchange does well: it hands you a new life in a new place. A swap drops you straight into a neighbourhood. You will buy bread from the same bakery the last family used, and learn which bus is always late. You become a resident where the other household has already lived, and a good handover note gets you there faster.

Why handover notes work so well

Both households are equally invested in things going well. Nobody wants their own move to go wrong, so each of you has every reason to look after the other. It's a mutual exchange in every sense: each family helps the other settle in.

What to put in your handover note

The practical essentials

• Meters: where the gas, electricity and water meters are, and your final readings on the day you leave.
• Stopcock and fuse box: where to find them, so nobody is hunting for them in an emergency.
• Heating and hot water: how the boiler and thermostat work, and any quirks, like a radiator that needs bleeding.
• Bins and recycling: which bin goes out on which day.
• Post: that you've set up a redirection, and how to reach you if anything still arrives.

What is staying and what is going

• Anything you have agreed to leave, such as carpets, curtains, blinds, a shed or white goods. Say whether each item is yours or the landlord's.
• Instruction manuals and warranties for anything you're leaving.
• Spare keys, window keys and any fobs, and how many of each there are.

Remember that in a mutual exchange you normally take the home "as seen". Anything you agreed to leave becomes the new tenant's responsibility, not the landlord's, so be clear about it.

The home itself

• Who to call for repairs, and how to report them to the landlord.
• Anything that is waiting for a repair, or that the landlord has already been told about.
• Parking arrangements, permits or allocated spaces.
• Your broadband provider, and where the phone or fibre socket is.

The neighbourhood

• The nearest shops, GP surgery, pharmacy and schools.
• Bus routes and stops worth knowing about.
• Good places for a walk, a coffee or to take the children.
• A friendly word about the neighbours, and whether there's a tenants' or residents' group.

Keep it short and friendly

A single page is plenty. Leave it somewhere obvious, like the kitchen worktop, with the keys. If you want to be extra helpful, swap phone numbers with the other household for the first few weeks, in case a question comes up that only the last tenant can answer.

It's a small gesture, but it sets the tone for your new home and theirs.

Thinking about a particular town? Read what it's like to live there before you swap, then search the homes available.