Exchanging or taking over tenancies

Council and housing association tenants are able to swap properties with each other. There are also two situations where you can take over a tenancy from someone else.

Please note

Do not make any major changes to your life until your swap has been approved and you have signed the paperwork. Swappers (including you) have a legal right to pull out of a mutual exchange at any point before the paperwork is signed.

Exchanging tenancies

Only secure tenants have the right to exchange properties. Exchanges cannot take place until we have approved them. If more than one landlord is involved in the swap, both must approve it.

Please see the quick link above to apply to exchange properties.

You can register with HomeSwapper to increase your chances of exchanging homes. HomeSwapper is the UK’s largest mutual exchange service for council and housing association tenants looking to swap homes.

Taking over tenancies

The first situation where you can take over a tenancy is when a tenant dies and a relative wants to live in the property. A spouse automatically succeeds a tenancy, as long as they lived there on the date of death, and it is their only home.

A relative or partner of the deceased tenant can apply to succeed a tenancy, provided they can prove they have been living at the property for at least 12 months immediately prior to the tenant’s death.

The second situation is where a tenant gives you their tenancy. There are very clear guidelines about who a tenant can assign their tenancy to – it is essentially the person who would normally qualify to succeed the tenancy if the tenant had died.

Only one person can succeed or assign a tenancy, and a tenancy cannot be taken over more than once.

Please see the quick link above to apply to assign a tenancy.