A mutual exchange is where 2 or more social housing tenants swap homes. This is with consent from their landlords.
If you are a secure council tenant, you have the right to apply for a mutual exchange with another tenant. This can be a housing association or another council tenant. You can apply to swap homes with tenants from other parts of the country as well as those in Hull.
Sometimes, 3 or more tenants can be involved in an exchange so that everyone gets a home they need. For example -
- tenant A moves into tenant B’s home
- tenant B moves into tenant C’s home
- tenant C moves into tenant A’s home
Searching for a mutual exchange
To search for a mutual exchange, all Hull City Council and other social housing tenants in Hull can register with Homeswapper free of charge. This is a national website. It allows you to search for people who would also like to exchange their home, who are verified social housing tenants.
When you register, make sure you set your search criteria to match what and where you are looking for, so tenants in homes you are looking for match to your property.
Registering onto Homeswapper helps you find someone that you might be able to swap homes with. It does not guarantee that you are eligible to swap. These checks will be carried out by your landlord when you find a swap and apply to progress it.
If you are not a Hull City Council tenant and your landlord does not partner with Homeswapper, there may be a charge for you to register on the site. Please contact your own landlord for details of the mutual exchange system they use.
You can also advertise yourself to find a swap. For example, in your local shops. Or you may already know someone you would like to swap homes with.
Safety precautions
Be careful about the amount of information you share about your home and your personal circumstances when searching for a mutual exchange. This is especially if you are doing this outside of the Homeswapper website.
We do not advise using social media platforms for this purpose as you do not know that those using the page are social housing tenants or eligible to exchange. Those registered on the Homeswapper website are verified by their landlords as being social housing tenants.
You should never offer or accept any payment for a mutual exchange.
These safety precautions may be useful as a guide.