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National ‘house-swap’ scheme to be launched by Conservatives

09/11/2023

Posted by:
Renata Watson

Tenants living in social housing would be able to benefit from a national house-swap scheme planned by the Conservatives, Grant Shapps, the shadow housing minister, said today.

He told the National Housing Federation conference that the Tories wanted to make it as easy for social tenants to move as it is for people living in private housing.

Under the current arrangements, social tenants are four times less likely to move than people who rent privately.

‘If you are a social tenant, you don’t have the same opportunities as other renters or home-owners. The system means that your aspirations are squeezed, your expectations lowered, and your horizons are limited,’ Mr Shapps said.

‘Today I can announce that a future Conservative government will facilitate a nationwide affordable-house-swap programme.

‘We will introduce an open database connectivity platform to ensure that – for the first time ever – every family in social housing will have the chance to relocate by exchanging their home for another one, anywhere in the country.’

Comments:

clearly this guy has had no need to ‘swap’ a house before or he would already know of several very good already existing national Homeswap websites….just another bit of Conservative spin…

Posted by gerry Whelan on Monday 09 2009 at 02:00 PM

Of course private tenants move much more frequently that public tenants.  They’re forced to because they have no real security of tenure.  That, apparently, is what Grant Shapps wants for council and HA tenants, too.

Mobility for those who wish to move certainly needs to be improved, but what the Tories mean by “mobility” seems to be a euphemism for insecurity, instability and “transit camp” housing.

Posted by Jim Paton on Tuesday 10 2009 at 02:28 AM

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