Can I swap my home?
Answer a few questions to see whether anything could stop or delay a mutual exchange, and what to do about it. It takes about two minutes. Your answers stay in your browser: nothing is saved or sent to us.
Who can do a mutual exchange?
Most council and housing association tenants in England can swap homes with another social tenant, as long as both landlords agree in writing. That includes tenants with a secure or assured (lifetime) tenancy and those with a fixed-term or flexible tenancy.
You usually can't swap on an introductory, starter or demoted tenancy until it becomes a full tenancy, which is often after 12 months. Mutual exchange is also not open to private renters, people in temporary accommodation, or most shared ownership homes. If you rent jointly, every joint tenant must agree and sign.
When can your landlord refuse?
Landlords can only refuse for set reasons. For council tenants these are written into law (Schedule 3 of the Housing Act 1985), and housing associations use very similar rules. The main ones are:
- a court has made a possession order, or possession proceedings have started, against either tenant, including for anti-social behaviour;
- the new home would be much too big for the household moving in, or not suitable for their needs, for example badly overcrowded;
- the home is adapted for a disability, or is sheltered or supported housing, and the household moving in doesn't need that;
- the home is linked to a job, or let by a charity for people the incoming tenant doesn't qualify as.
Your landlord must give you a written decision within 42 days of your completed application, and a refusal must say which reason applies.
Conditions your landlord can set
Rent arrears and damage aren't reasons to refuse outright, but your landlord can approve the swap on condition that you clear the arrears and put right any damage or changes you made without permission first. Sorting these early is the best way to avoid a hold-up at the end.
Spare bedrooms and benefits
If you're of working age and get help with rent through housing benefit or Universal Credit, the help is cut when you have a spare bedroom: by 14% for one spare bedroom and 25% for two or more. Check the size of any home you're thinking of swapping into, so the move doesn't leave you worse off.
What happens to your tenancy
In a mutual exchange you normally take over the other tenant's tenancy, so your landlord, rent and tenancy type become theirs. A council tenant moving into a housing association home usually becomes an assured tenant, and rights such as the Right to Buy can change. Ask the new landlord before you sign, and take the home "as seen": anything the other tenant leaves behind becomes yours to look after.
Never pay for a swap
No money or goods should change hands to make a swap happen. It is against the rules, a landlord can refuse or undo a swap involving a payment, and for council tenants it is a legal ground for the landlord to take the home back.
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
This checker follows the rules in England. Tenants in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland can also swap, including across the borders, but each has its own laws and timescales. Your landlord can tell you what applies.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Your landlord's mutual exchange policy has the detail for your tenancy. For free independent advice, contact Citizens Advice or Shelter.