Home, sweet home swap

Social housing tenants who want to swap homes are being invited to another ‘speed dating’ event by Salford City Council.

The council hit on the idea of setting up home swap sessions to help tenants beat the bedroom tax or move for work or family reasons.

The idea is to match make for tenants who want a smaller or larger property or who want to move to a different area of the city by introducing them to others in the same situation. Council and housing association staff can then advise them on how to carry out the home swap.

The ‘speed dating’ events helped 130 people swap last year – twice as many people swap compared to the year before.

“We have over 1,200 tenants on the mutual exchange register already, so there are plenty of people wanting to swap homes. It’s a quicker way of finding a property rather than waiting for the right home in the right place to become vacant,” said Councillor Peter Connor, assistant mayor for adult services.

“We will have staff from various local landlords and the council at the sessions to explain the process and check the local and national registers for any matches. We will put tenants in touch and it’s then up to them if they decide to go ahead.”

Representatives from Salix Homes, City West and Guinness Northern Counties housing associations will be on hand to offer advice and answer questions on the mutual exchange process.

Sue Sutton, director of customer and neighbourhood services at Salix Homes, said: “Whether you’re looking to downsize to avoid the bedroom tax or you want to move to a larger property, a mutual exchange could prove to be a much easier and quicker way for you to find your ideal home.

“Since 2013 Salix Homes has helped 54 families swap homes and these ‘speed-dating’ events provide an excellent opportunity for you to meet other people in a similar situation. Our staff will be on hand to talk you through the simple process and hopefully we’ll be able to help you find your perfect match.”

The free session will be held on Thursday, February 5 at Pendleton Gateway in Broadwalk, Pendleton and runs from 10am to 2.30pm.

Anyone interested in house swapping can register online at www.salfordhomesearch.co.uk or ring the national helpline on 0845 234 5696.