What is the law on exchanging homes

Question

I am retired and belong to an housing scheme called Seaside and Country Homes.This is only for people 60 who are willing to give up there council or housing *** property to have a chance to move out of london and to the countryside or seaside which is all very nice,but now I am told I am not allowed to exchange unless it is with another person who belongs to this scheme in an area that I want, which would be very difficult seeing that Seaside and Country Homes don't have an exchange scheme.So here is hoping that there is some one out there who can help. Cheers

Answer 1

This sounds like a problem for an estate agent.  If you and another person actually had properties to swap, the procedure is simple enough (in the US, an escrow agent typically handles the paperwork), but you need to find a property -- and that is where the estate agent comes in.  In the meantime, look to the deed for your present property to see what restrictions are actually in place with respect to transfers or other issues.

Answer 2

If you have council or housing assocaition property, I would suggest you try www.homeswapper.co.uk it is a site specifically set up for people in council/housing assoc properties to exchange with one another.

Some councils have signed up to it so it costs you nothing at all, you can find out if your council has by checking your local council website.

You can search for properties all over the country, by what you are looking for (number of bedrooms, location etc) and try to match with someone who would like to swap with you.  It is very easy to use and seems to have a lot of properties on there!

The only rules really are that both parties agree and both landlords agree (they usually do unless there is going to be some issue such as overcrowding, or rent arrears on behalf of one of the people who want to swap).

Good luck I hope you find somewhere lovely!