Swapping your home

Overview

From 31 July, we stopped using our Mutual Exchange online service.

We now use HomeSwapper. You can use HomeSwapper to advertise your home and find available homes to swap. It is free to use for Gentoo customers.

You can swap your home when you have an assured tenancy agreement. You usually get an assured tenancy agreement after 12 months.

If your tenancy is part of an extra care scheme, you cannot swap your home.

We can stop you swapping your home when:

• there is an outstanding court possession order
• there are court proceedings pending against your tenancy
• you have been served with a notice of seeking possession
• you have an outstanding antisocial behaviour injunction or antisocial behaviour order
• the home would be too small or too large for the new customer
• the home is not suitable for the needs of the family
• your home has been adapted for or is suitable for people with extra needs and the proposed new customer does not have those needs
• the behaviour of the proposed new customer and their family would get them removed from our housing register

Register for HomeSwapper

Create your HomeSwapper account. We will verify your application.

When you find a home to swap with

You express an interest in the home at your local office. We will send your details securely to the other customer. If they are interested in swapping homes with you, they will contact you.

You and the other customer should arrange to view each other’s home. If you want to go ahead and swap homes, call 0191 525 5000 and select option 4 to request a Mutual Exchange form.

Once you and the other customer have completed the form, we will:

• remove both adverts
• view both homes to make sure you are getting a good home
• decide if you can swap your homes within 42 days

You can change your mind and withdraw from the process at any time before signing your new tenancy agreement.

You must not move home until you have our permission and have signed your new tenancy agreement. If you do, you could put your home at risk.

Homes advertised on social media

If you find a home on social media, call 0191 525 5000 and select option 4. We will contact the housing provider for you, help with the paperwork and do what we can to make sure everything goes smoothly.

Moving to a different home from Gentoo without swapping

You can view all available properties on our online housing register.

You must be 2 or more years into your current tenancy before you can move to a different Gentoo property.

If we assess that you have a priority need for housing within the first 2 years, you can reapply to join our housing register. A priority housing need includes:

• antisocial behaviour
• exceptional circumstances, like a fire or flood in your current home
• financial difficulties
• mobility needs
• overcrowding
• under occupying, where one person lives in a home with 3 bedrooms