A golden opportunity (and totally legal)

The social housing market often has a reputation for being a bit stuck. You submit an application, and you wait... sometimes for ages. But there's an awesome trick that few people know about: the Mutual Exchange.

It's simply the right to swap your home with another social sector tenant, without having to wait in line all over again, provided of course you follow a few ground rules.

The boxes you need to tick

For your landlord or housing association to give you the green light, both tenants need to tick these boxes:

• Same landlord (or same area): It's much simpler if both your homes belong to the same landlord or council. Otherwise, they usually need to be in a compatible area.
• An income question: Your income has to match the brackets for the home you want to move into. Makes sense!
• The right size: The new place has to fit your family size. You can't put a large family in a studio (overcrowding), or a single person in a 4-bedroom house (under-occupation).
• Be a model tenant: You need to be up to date on your rent and have no ongoing neighbor disputes.

Why is it so awesome?

Rather than making a standard application, swapping has some serious perks:

1. It's way faster: Once you've found your swap partner, the deal can be sealed in 2 or 3 months. Goodbye years of waiting!
2. You actually choose: Unlike an allocation where you're offered a "take it or leave it" home, here you visit beforehand and know exactly what you're getting into.
3. You keep your perks: You stay in the social sector, with a capped rent.
4. It follows your life: It's the perfect solution if the family grows, the kids leave, or you change jobs.

The SwapMyFlat boost

The hardest part in all this isn't the paperwork. It's finding the person who wants your apartment and who lives exactly where you're dreaming to go!

That's exactly why we created SwapMyFlat. Fill in your current home, tell us what you're looking for, and we'll take care of finding you the ideal partner (the "perfect Match").

How does it actually work?

So you've found your Match on SwapMyFlat? Here's what's next:

1. The meet-up: Organize visits to each other's places. Now's the time to ask all your questions.
2. Agreeing: If everyone's thrilled, you write a short joint letter to make your request.
3. Tell the landlord: Send your file (letter, payslips, etc.) to your landlord.
4. The big jury: The landlord presents your file to the allocation committee. They have the final say.
5. It's signed!: If it's a yes, you do the inventory and sign your new leases on the same day.

Questions we get asked all the time (FAQ)

Do I keep my current rent?

Not exactly. You sign a new lease for the new home. The rent will be calculated based on the new home's prices, according to the current rules. Make sure to ask your landlord for an estimate before signing!

What if the other person changes their mind?

As long as nothing is signed, anyone can back out. That's why you need to communicate well and stay transparent with your swap partner throughout the whole process.

In short, a social housing swap is a really great way to get things moving. Don't wait for others to decide for you, create your listing on SwapMyFlat and make it happen!