The consent for a mutual exchange should not be withheld except on one or more grounds set out in Schedule 3 of the Housing Act 1985. We may therefore refuse permission for a tenant to assign their tenancy to a mutual exchange partner for one of the following reasons:
- The tenancy is subject to a court order
- The tenancy is subject to a current notice of seeking possession
- Legal action has been taken against the tenant because of anti-social behaviour or the matter is waiting to be heard before the Courts
- The property the tenant wishes to move to is too large for their needs. The suitable size for a tenant's need is outlined in Appendix 1 and in the Hammersmith & Fulham Housing Allocation Scheme
- The property the tenant wishes to move to is too small for their needs
- The property was let because of employment and forms part of, or is in the grounds of, a non-housing building
- The property has features which make it particularly suitable for people with
- disabilities, or the property is one of a group let to people with disabilities with specific facilities nearby and the exchange would result in no one with the relevant needs being in occupation
- The property is a sheltered property, and the exchange would result in no one with the relevant needs being in occupation
We approve or refuse all mutual exchanges within 42 days of receiving a full application with supporting documents from our tenant.
Where a ground for refusal does not apply, we may withhold consent to an exchange until all obligations under the tenancy have been met, including:
- The property is in a good condition
- All rent and service charge has been paid
We will arrange an inspection of the outgoing tenant's property to check that there are no unapproved alterations or damage that requires repair prior to agreeing an exchange.