Update
There is no change to guidance on moving homes during the lockdown from Thursday 5 November and as such mutual exchanges will continue as detailed below. We will continue to monitor and follow Government Covid-19 guidance and update our website with any changes.
To make sure we keep you and our staff safe we carried out a risk assessment and changed our procedure a little.
What’s the plan?
We’re managing home swap requests in date order, starting with the oldest first and working through to the most recent request. Please wait for us to contact you – we’re working through them as fast as we can.
Exchange inspections
Inspections will start taking place again from Monday 13 July and will be booked in advance. We need to re-do all your gas and electric checks as well as other inspections, even if you’ve already had them done in preparation for a mutual exchange. This is because it’s been 3 months since your checks were last done, and a lot of things could have changed since then.
What do I need to do?
For inspections to take place safely we all need to follow some simple guidelines:
- We will contact you to complete a health assessment one day before inspections. Our staff will also take the health assessment before they visit.
- Please ventilate your property before, during and after inspections. Open all your windows at least 2 hours before your inspection and keep them open during and after the inspection. This will minimise the risk of spreading infection.
- Facemasks must be worn during your inspections – by you and our staff
- Only one member of your household can be present during the inspection. All other family members, including children and pets, will need to be outside in the garden or somewhere other than in your home. If this isn’t possible then your inspection cannot take place
- The resident that you are swapping homes with cannot be invited to your inspection. We need to follow social distancing guidelines so we’re minimising the number of people in your home
- Please allow our officers to video the whole inspection rather than complete paperwork on site. This will limit the amount of time the officer is in your property.
- Paperwork will be sent to you via post so please complete it and send it back as soon as possible. The sooner we receive your paperwork, the sooner the home swap can take place.
How are we keeping you safe?
All our staff will wear personal protective equipment (PPE) and health assessments will be done for both you and our staff. We will also follow social distancing guidelines by limiting the amount of people in your property at any one time and videoing the inspection so that our staff spend as little time in your home as possible.
What if I’m self-isolating or in lockdown?
If your exchange is in a local lockdown area it will be postponed until the restrictions are lifted. We need to follow government guidance and keep everyone safe.
If you are self-isolating or think you have coronavirus symptoms, please let us know as soon as you can using our website form, so we can reschedule your exchange inspections if necessary.
Further information
Find out more information about home swapping (mutual exchanges) and how to move house.
For government advice on home moving during the coronavirus outbreak visit gov.uk.