Not already a partner with House Exchange? Have some questions?
This page provides help with the most frequently asked questions about our service, House Exchange
Who can partner with House Exchange?
Social housing providers can join House Exchange; this can include organisations like local authorities, housing associations and co-operatives. By becoming part of our community you can offer your tenants free access to search for a mutual exchange. To learn more about partnering with us, please get in touch with the team!
How can we support tenants to find a mutual exchange if they do not have access to the internet?
We have a dedicated ‘Offline’ support area catering to the digitally excluded, where your staff members can register tenants with no internet access and manage their House Exchange account on their behalf.
Do you provide tenants with the facility to self-serve should they need support with reading and understanding content online?
Yes, we have two front facing tools available from our homepage.
The ReachDeck tool bar helps to make the content on our website more available to residents and is part of a complete digital inclusion solution. It provides speech playback, reading and translation support. Google translate tool enables users to change the web page content from English to over 100 other languages.
How will I know if we have new registrations waiting to be approved?
When a new administrator is added to your database, you have live notifications that can be added; you can select email alerts when your resident has completed a joining registration. All pending accounts will also be instantly identifiable from your own partner dashboard.
How can you support us with comms to residents through social media channels to promote Mutual Exchange?
Mutual exchange month campaigns – we help partners plan campaigns to go out to residents across social media channels. This helps promote mutual exchange as a viable moving option and includes bespoke property of the week posts. We provide the supporting materials to go alongside the posts.
What marketing materials are available for us to use?
We have a suite of marketing materials to raise the profile of mutual exchange and the House Exchange service. We can offer tailored content to further benefit our partners and help you to reach key demographics for your residents. These materials range from physical leaflets to digital content appropriate for your website and email promotions.
We can share a promotional House Exchange video that can be added to your website, as this would complement your existing information displayed for your residents on mutual exchanges. The promotional video can be seen here:- Think Emma, Think House Exchange!
Does House Exchange offer a mutual exchange tracking system?
Yes! We have two options available dependent upon the needs of your organisation.
We have a My Mutual Exchange feature embedded in the platform that lets you keep your tenants updated on their mutual exchange application's progress. If you have your own internal mutual exchange tracking portal, this tool helps reduce calls and emails by complementing the service you have in place.
We also have a Mutual Exchange tracking platform called ‘MEx Connections’ available from our partner Home Connections. This portal was created as a joint venture to provide a mutual exchange platform for the purpose of tracking and managing the application process. The portal can be added as an additional service to House Exchange.
What training would we receive if we became a House Exchange partner?
When you become a partner, we will discuss your training requirements and provide tailored sessions adapted to the access levels of your admins. At no extra cost, we also provide additional training focused on both resident and admin overview sessions on how to use House Exchange; this can be utilised to support staff that have recently joined your organisation or those that have had a change in role that need to support your residents with everything mutual exchange.
Fundamentally, House Exchange is an intuitive and easy to use website at its core and our team are passionate about sharing their knowledge of the website with both partners and their tenants alike.
Do you attend and/or offer support on resident engagement events?
We have extensive experience with planning and attending resident engagement days, which helps your residents learn more about the House Exchange service as an avenue to help them move homes. This support is complimentary and included in your partnership membership.
What self-serve tools are available to help customers use House Exchange?
‘How to’ video guides – We have created a series of ‘How to’ guides for your residents, to help them navigate the website and assist in answering common queries. These videos can be accessed by residents on House Exchange by the following link:- https://www.youtube.com/@House_Exchange
Landlord Navigation Guides – We have bitesize navigation videos for the House Exchange admin portal, meaning your staff members can quickly learn how specific tasks can be performed on the system, such as approving accounts or marking exchanges.
Can we advertise our empty properties on House Exchange?
You can advertise your low demand/void properties on House Exchange via the admin portal at no extra cost. Our team can provide all the necessary training and guidance to your staff members, allowing an extra avenue by which your empty properties can be advertised.
What are your fees to join House Exchange?
Landlord memberships are based on the stock that you have in your organisation, which would qualify for a mutual exchange. To find out more, complete our ‘Contact Us’ form and a member of the team will be in touch.
How do we migrate from our existing mutual exchange service to House Exchange?
The process we have adopted is very straightforward and easy for everyone. Once you have chosen House Exchange as your mutual exchange service, we will implement an action plan that meets your requirements. You will be assigned the services of our Senior Partnership Manager who will take care of delivering the system, management, and support training along with the process of notifying your residents about the change of service.
We offer an inclusive after implementation service to ensure that partner landlords, their customers and their staff are best placed to use the system.
