Luminus Group

A mutual exchange is when you swap homes with another social housing tenant. This can often be quicker than waiting for a transfer. You can swap with someone who is a Luminus tenant or the tenant of another landlord – providing you both have the right kind of tenancy and permission from both landlords.

 

You can find a swap partner by:
 

  • Advertising locally – for example, in shop windows or your local paper
  • Registering free with Home-Link Scheme, for a move in Cambridgeshire or elsewhere in the country, or
  • Registering for a small fee with HomeSwapper, for a swap across the whole UK.

If you don’t have access to the internet, you can get a mutual registration form for Home-Link by visiting our offices at Brook House, Ouse Walk, Huntingdon, or calling 0345 266 9760 (calls are charged at local rate).
 

What happens next:
 

Once you find a swap partner, you need to check their tenancy agreement, as well as looking at their home. This is because you will be swapping tenancies as well as swapping homes. For example, many Luminus tenants have the right to buy their homes, but your swap partner may not have this right. You will need to decide if this is important to you. If you need advice about your swap partner’s agreement, you can call us.

Once you’re ready to go ahead, you need to complete a mutual exchange request form. If your partner came through Home-Link, you’ll be able to complete this online. Otherwise, phone us for a copy.

We will give you our answer in writing within 42 days – after checking all the details and visiting you at home. We will only refuse with a good reason. For example if:

  • your swap partner would overcrowd or badly under-occupy your home
  • your home is designed for the elderly, or someone with disabilities, and your swap partner doesn’t need this kind of home, or
  • we’re currently taking you to court.

We might say yes, but with conditions. For example:

  • you need to pay off any rent you owe, or
  • you need to put right any damage or neglect to the property.

Be aware that when you swap homes, you are accepting the home in the condition you find it. We (and the other landlord) don’t have to decorate or make alterations to fit your appliances.