House exchange

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If you are a Renfrewshire council tenant, you could swap your home with another tenant within Renfrewshire. This is called a 'mutual exchange'. Most mutual exchanges involve another council tenant, or the tenant of a housing association. The council will also consider exchanges between Renfrewshire council tenants and tenants of private landlords.

By swapping homes you may be able to get the kind of house you want without having to wait on the council’s waiting list.

How can I find someone to swap with?

House Exchange – The best way to find your mutual exchange.

Renfrewshire Council House Exchange website has been designed to bring tenants together who live in Renfrewshire who are looking to swap their home. You can also search for tenants who live in other parts of the UK if you are considering moving from Renfrewshire.

If you are interested in finding another tenant to swap your home with, please register with this site by clicking on the “register” button which can be found on the left hand menu of the House Exchange website. It is easy to register and best of all it’s free.

Please note that you need to be a Scottish Secure Tenant before your mutual exchange will be considered.

When you register you will need to provide:

• Your contact details
• Details of your current property
• A photo of your current property (if possible)
• Details of the property you are looking for

Once you have applied to register your registration will need to be approved by Renfrewshire Council and send you an e-mail including your ID number and password.

Once approved your property will appear on our database and you will be able to run searches to find someone suitable to swap with.

If you have any questions about house exchanges please contact your local housing office or our Customer Service Centre who will be happy to assist you.

We hope you find this service to be of use and wish you every success in finding your new home.

What should I do if I find someone to swap with?

• Change your application form to show that you would accept a mutual exchange. You can then visit your local neighbourhood office and ask for a list of possible swaps.
• Advertise in the local paper, in a local shop or supermarket.
• Contact them and make arrangements to visit each other's houses
• Inspect their house carefully. Make sure you are happy with the condition of it, as the landlord will not be responsible for any decoration needed or for carrying out repairs which are the tenant's responsibility.
• If you decide after viewing that you want to swap, you must both complete a mutual exchange application form. You can get this at your local neighbourhood office.

Will it affect my Right to Buy?

Protected Right to Buy
(for tenancies beginning before 30 September 2002)
If you are a council tenant, you will probably have the right to buy your house under the 'Right to Buy' scheme. If you moved into your current tenancy before 30 September 2002 you will have the protected 'Right to Buy' discount and qualifying period. However, if you decide to swap your home with another tenant, you will lose this protected right to buy discount and qualifying period. Your new tenancy will entitle you to the appropriate discount under the 'Revised Right to Buy' provisions.

Revised Right to Buy
(for tenancies beginning on or after 30 September 2002)
If your tenancy began on or after 30 September 2002, you are entitled to a 'Revised Right to Buy' discount after a five-year qualifying period. The discount will start at 20% and increase by 1% for each year (up to 35% or £15,000 whichever is less). This 'Revised Right to Buy' still applies if you decide to swap homes with another tenant.

What happens next?

Once we have your application we will:

• Inspect both houses (where both parties live in Renfrewshire) to make sure they are in good condition.
• Check the size of the houses to make sure no overcrowding will occur if you do swap.
• Check that both tenants have a clear rent account and there have been no problems with the tenancy.

If you want to swap with a tenant of another landlord we will write to their landlord for information to let us process the application. We will also give their landlord information about your tenancy.

How long will I have to wait before getting an answer?

• By law we must give you a decision within a month. We will confirm that we have received your mutual exchange application form within 10 working days.
• If we agree to the swap, you and the other tenant will be notified in writing and you will be asked to sign a new tenancy agreement for your new home. You must not move in before you have done this.

What if I am refused permission?

• Permission cannot be refused without good reason.
• We will not agree to the swap unless the house you want to move to suits your needs.
• If you do not agree with our decision you can challenge it by giving your reasons in writing to your local neighbourhood office. They will then let you know of their decision within 14 days of receiving your letter.

Further information

All enquiries or applications should be made to the neighbourhood office which covers the area where you live. Unfortunately, we cannot accept online applications to exchange homes at the moment. However, this is under development.

Do you need to move to another part of the country?

If you want information on swapping homes with someone in another part of the country, find out about other housing mobility schemes.

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