Swapping your home

Swapping your home with Mutual Exchange

You can use Mutual Exchange to advertise your home and find available homes to swap. It is only available to Gentoo tenants.

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 tenant
• 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 tenant does not have those needs
• the behaviour of the proposed new tenant and their family would get them removed from the Housing Register

Register for Mutual Exchange

Fill in the online application form to register for Mutual Exchange.

We will verify your application and send you a unique reference number and a pin.

Use these details to securely log in to Mutual Exchange and advertise your home and find available homes to swap. Log in to Mutual Exchange.

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 tenant using Mutual Exchange. If they are interested in swapping homes with you, they will contact you.

You and the other tenant 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 tenant have completed the form, we will:

• remove both adverts from Mutual Exchange
• 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.

Swapping your home with Home Swap Direct

Home Swap Direct is a government scheme that makes it easier to swap homes with people across the UK who are not Gentoo tenants. You can swap your home with a tenant from another registered housing provider or council.

If you want to swap with a tenant from another registered housing provider or council, 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.

Use Home Swap Direct through Mutual Exchange.

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