Council tenants can swap tenancies thanks to innovative, free scheme.
The Homeswapper website allows tenants to register their interest in home swapping, advertise their property and give details of the type of home they are interested in. They can specify a property one bedroom size larger than the property they currently occupy or smaller homes.
The website will then match tenants with properties which meet their requirements in the areas they specify. To be eligible for the scheme – known as Mutual Exchange – tenants need to be approved as secure tenants, have a clear rent account and have no other breaches of tenancy.
Enfield Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, Cllr Dino Lemonides, said: “Homeswapper gives Council tenants a degree of control over transferring homes if they decide they want to move properties and it is a great way of opening up social housing transfers to a large number of tenants.
“This scheme gives residents the opportunity to access a wider range of properties, both inside and outside Enfield, without them needing to apply through the Housing Register.
“It empowers people by giving them extra housing choices, reduces the number of transfer applications the Council receives and enables us to better target our limited housing resources where they are most needed.”
Once a tenant has been matched with a home, they complete an application form and their application is processed by Enfield Council.
At present 836 Enfield Council tenants are on the Homeswapper website, approximately 8 per cent of all Council tenants. In the last 12 months there have been 83 swaps – a rate 10 per cent above the national average.
More details about the Homeswapper scheme can be found on their website.