How can I move?

If you currently live in a Swan home and need to move to another property there are a number of different ways that you can do this. Most social housing tenants move by exchanging their home with another tenant. You can also register on our transfer list and be considered for another Swan home.

Transfer
If you have lived in your home for over one year and have an assured, secure or five year fixed term tenancy you can register for a move to another home. If you wish to be considered for a transfer to another home you should register your details at www.homehunt.co.uk. All Swan’s homes that are let through our transfer list are offered on the basis of housing need and time waited. After you have registered, your application will be assessed based on your current housing need.

Priority bands
Once we have assessed your application it will be placed into a priority band. In total we have six priority bands and as a Swan tenant you will be placed in one of the first four bands.

Band one – this is for people who need to move the most urgently. Those in this band will usually have had their application considered at a management panel or they could be looking to downsize from a three bedroom or larger home into a one bed property.

Band two – people in this band will have been assessed as having a high level of housing need. This will include a household with more than three children sharing a bedroom or a family living in a studio with a child over one year old.

Band three – this is the largest band and is for people who have a moderate need to move, including those who have two children aged under ten of the opposite sex sharing a bedroom, or a child under five years living in a flat on the 2nd floor or above, in an un-lifted block.

Band four – this is for those with no or a low level of defined housing need and includes those who have weekend access to children and have children under ten years of the same sex sharing a bedroom.

Band five – is for adults aged over 21 years (other than the tenant), living in the property such as an adult child of the tenant.

Band six – this is for people aged over 21 years who do not live in a Swan property, who may register for consideration for a one bedroom Swan flat that has not been allocated to someone in the first five bands.

Other circumstances when band one priority may be awarded include when someone living in the home has been the victim of a serious crime, or experienced a personal tragedy. Each case is considered on the individual’s circumstances and how seriously the location of the home is having a detrimental effect on the household.

Extra priority can also be awarded for some medical conditions. When we consider a request for medical priority we look at how the current home is making the medical condition worse or how would the person’s condition be improved by moving. We do not take into consideration how serious the medical condition is, only how it is being affected by the property. 

Mutual exchange
If you want to move, it is usually quicker to move by a mutual exchange. This is when you swap tenancies with another local authority or housing association tenant. You can apply on-line through websites such as www.homeswapper.co.uk to find someone to swap with. Once you have found someone to swap with, you need to complete an application and submit it to us. You cannot move until you have received written permission from us and if you are swapping with someone who is not a Swan tenant, you must also have written permission from their landlord.

We will not give you permission to exchange your home if:
• We have started legal action against you
• One of the properties is too big or too small for the other household
• One of the properties has been adapted and the person moving into that property does not need that adaptation

If you apply for an exchange we will give you our decision on your application within 42 days of receiving it. If you move through a mutual exchange you should be aware that the property may not be in the same condition it would be if it had been let to you directly by Swan. You may find that your new home needs some repairs after you have moved, that you may think are the landlord’s responsibly and they are not.

Moving to another home
If you swap home we will treat any request for a repair from you as if it was made by the person you exchanged with. We will only carry out repairs if there is a health and safety concern and any other repairs, such as damage to doors, walls, worktops will be your responsibility to repair. You can check Swan’s Repair Standards for further information on repair responsibilities. You should also note that you may lose some of your tenancy rights if the person you are exchanging with has a different type of tenancy to you. You may also be charged for any damage you have caused in the property you are leaving.

Downsizing
If your home is too big for you or your benefits are restricted due to the social sector size criteria (bedroom tax) you may be awarded a higher priority for a transfer. We may also be able to provide you with financial assistance to help with your moving costs when you move into a smaller home.

Overcrowding
We will not intentionally allow a household to move into a property that would mean that they are overcrowded. It is also a condition of your tenancy not to allow the property to become overcrowded. We do understand that sometimes families grow but we will never give you our permission to move someone into your home if it will make it overcrowded.

For more information please call Swan’s Onboarding Team on 0300 303 2500 or email swanonboarding@swan.org.uk.