Tenant Handbook - moving

If you would like to move, there are several ways to search for a new home.

Transfers

Before making an application to move to another of our properties, you will need to complete a brief pre-assessment questionnaire.

After completing the questionnaire, you will be presented with a personal action plan outlining your most suitable housing options.

You will be asked to complete a Housing Needs Register application.

Transfer applications are assessed in line with the Housing Allocations policy.

Those with an identified housing need are banded accordingly and can bid for suitable housing.

Your housing application login allows you to view and bid for the properties you’re eligible for.

Mutual exchange

A mutual exchange is when council or housing association tenants swap their homes, with their landlord‘s permission.

Each tenant moves into the property of the person they are exchanging with.

You can exchange with:

• another WHBC tenant

• a tenant of another council or housing association

You’ll need to complete and sign the appropriate legal paperwork before you move and you will usually take over the existing tenancy agreement of the person you’re exchanging with.

It is not possible to exchange to an empty property.

It is important to remember that you will be agreeing to take over your new home as it is.

If the property needs decorating or repairing, you will have to carry out this work yourself.

Who can exchange

Any council or housing association tenant with a secure, assured or flexible tenancy can apply for a mutual exchange.

Your application may be turned down if you:

• are in arrears with your rent

• have caused a nuisance, committed anti-social behaviour, or you have breached your tenancy agreement in some other way

• have not allowed us to carry out a gas safety check during the last 12 months

• are being taken to court

• have been issued with a notice seeking possession of your home

• have not kept your home to the standard required

• have altered your home without our permission

The application may also be turned down if the property you would like to move to is:

• too big or too small for your needs

• has been designed or adapted for a disabled or older person, or built for a specific age group and you, or the person you’re exchanging with, does not qualify for that type of housing

Finding someone to exchange with

The easiest way to find a swap with another tenant is to register with HomeSwapper, an online database of people who want to move home.

It’s free to use and is a nationwide service, so you can move within Welwyn Hatfield or anywhere else in the country.

To register, go to homeswapper.co.uk and complete an online application form.

You’ll need to supply:

• contact information

• choice of locations

• number of bedrooms you need

• details of the kind of home you would like

Once you have found a property you are interested in, you’ll need to contact the tenant to arrange to view each other’s homes.

You can show an interest in as many homes as you like until you find a home that suits you.

Rightsizing Transfer Scheme

If you are an exisiting tenant and live in a property that is too big for you, we can help you move to a smaller, more manageable home.

People downsize for all sorts of reasons. It can be an opportunity to move to a new area or to a property more suited to your needs.

A smaller home is easier to keep clean and manage.

You could also pay less in rent, council tax and energy bills.

We want to make it as easy as possible for you to find a more suitable home.

The help we can provide includes:

Advice

We can meet with you to discuss your housing options, including sheltered accommodation and mutual exchanges.

We also offer practical help with the moving process, including guidance on how to arrange removals, changing your utility suppliers and changing addresses.

The Housing Needs Register (waiting list)

If you are not already registered for a transfer, we can help you apply and show you how to ‘bid’ for homes which might be of interest.

We can set up autobidding for applicants.

This means the system will automatically place bids according to your preferred area and house size.

Additional priority

Households who are looking to rightsize are awarded additional priority in accordance with the Housing Allocations Policy.

Financial assistance

You may be able to claim some financial assistance towards the cost of rightsizing.

The amount payable is based on the size of property you are moving from and in to.

Incentives will be paid following the completion of the move by BACS payment. Any money owed to the council may be deducted from the amount offered.

Eligibility

To be eligible for this scheme you must be a council tenant and meet one of the following criteria:

• your current home has two or more bedrooms

• you are under occupying your home by at least one bedroom

• you must not be moving into overcrowded conditions

• in most cases you should not have rent arrears and your property should be in good condition

How to apply

For more information about the Rightsizing Transfer Scheme, please contact the Neighbourhood Team by calling 01707 357 796 or emailing neighbourhoods@welhat.gov.uk.

You can find out more on our Rightsizing page.