Mutual Exchange

What is a mutual exchange?

A Mutual Exchange is the process of social housing tenants swapping their homes. It can involve two or more properties and can take place across multiple local authorities and/or housing associations.

Eligibility

If you occupy your home on any of the following types of tenancy agreements, and providing there are no grounds for refusal, you have a statutory right to Mutually Exchange:

Secure council or housing association tenancy
Flexible (fixed term) council tenancy
Fully assured housing association tenancy
Assured shorthold tenancy (AST) with a housing association

If you occupy your home on any of the following forms of agreement, you do not have the right to Mutually Exchange:

Starter / introductory tenancy, including extension periods
Demoted tenancy
Temporary move (formerly known as decant) tenancy
Licence agreement
Any tenancy within the private rented sector

There are circumstances where Bassetlaw District Council has grounds to refuse a Mutual Exchange. The reasons include (but are not limited to):

The properties do not suit the needs of the households in line with our Choice Based Lettings Policy
Tenancy conduct (where there has been a breach of your tenancy)
Whether any of the legal Grounds for Refusal apply
There are outstanding debts e.g. rent arrears or rechargeable repairs

Debt accrued due to financial hardship

Exceptions can be made for tenants who have accrued housing-related debt if the Mutual Exchange is to a property with fewer bedrooms because of financial hardship, and to prevent further escalation of the arrears.

How to request an exchange

You are responsible for finding someone to exchange with. Tenants of Bassetlaw District Council have free access to HomeSwapper, and we encourage tenants to utilise this service when searching for somebody to Exchange with. Tenants may also wish to utilise other avenues to source a Mutual Exchange, for example by advertising in newspapers or on alternative websites.

Once you find a property, you will need to contact your Housing Officer who will provide you with an application form and information about what to expect during the Mutual Exchange Process.

Non-Bassetlaw District Council Tenants

If you’re a tenant whose landlord is not Bassetlaw District Council, you will be expected to provide the following documents:

Proof of Identity for Applicant(s)

Proof of National Insurance number and at least one of the following forms of proof of identity:

full birth certificate
medical card
marriage certificate
driving licence
passport
benefit entitlement letter

Proof of address for Applicant(s)

The applicant will need to provide proof of their current address. We will accept:

Recent Bank statement
Council Tax Bill
Recent utility bill
Any other document requested by Bassetlaw District Council

Children

If you are moving with a child/children we will need the following evidence:

Birth certificate (if under 3 months old)
Joint custody or joint residency order (if applicable)

If a child is over 3 months old, please provide the following:
Child Benefit/Child Tax Credit award notice, or;
A bank statement issued within last 12 months showing Child Benefit/Child Tax Credit being credited (Child Benefit if more than 1 child)

Grounds for refusal

Please note this list is non-extensive):

Schedule 3 of the Housing Act 1985	Schedule 14 of the Localism Act 2011	Grounds for refusal
-	Ground 1	When any rent lawfully due from a tenant under one of the existing tenancies has not been paid.
-	Ground 2	When an obligation under one of the existing tenancies has been broken or not performed.
Ground 1	Ground 3	A court order for possession or a suspended possession order has been made for either property.
Ground 2	Grounds 4 & 5	The landlord has served a notice of seeking possession and the notice is still in force, or possession proceedings have commenced.
Ground 3	Ground 7	The property is substantially larger than is reasonably needed by the proposed assignee.
Ground 4	Ground 8	The property is not reasonably suitable to the needs of the proposed assignee and their household.
Ground 5	Ground 9	The property is part of or close to a building that is held for non-housing purposes, or it is situated in a cemetery and was let in connection with employment with the landlord or with a local authority, a new town corporation, housing action trust, an urban development corporation, or the governors of a grant-aided school.
Additional ground (Housing Act 2004)	Ground 6	An injunction order under section 153 of the Housing Act 1996 or an anti-social behaviour order or a Demotion Order or a possession order under Ground 2 for secure tenancies or Ground 14 for assured tenancies is in force or an application for one of those is pending either against the tenant, the proposed assignee or a person who resides with either of them.
Ground 7	Ground 11	The property has been substantially adapted for occupation by a physically disabled person, and if the assignment went ahead a physically disabled person would not be living there.
Ground 8	Ground 12	The landlord lets properties to people in difficult circumstances (other than merely financial circumstances) and the proposed assignee would not fulfil these criteria.
Ground 9	Ground 13	The property is let to people with special needs and there is a social service or special facility nearby to the properties to assist people with those special needs, and if the assignment was to go ahead no person with those special needs would be living there.
Ground 10	Ground 14	The dwelling is the subject of a management agreement where the manager is a housing association of which at least half the members are tenants subject to the agreement and at least half of the tenants of the dwellings are members of the association, and also that the proposed assignee is not such a member nor is willing to become one.

Last Updated on Tuesday, February 24, 2026