Social housing transfer request: how to ask to move to a different property

A council or housing association tenant whose home no longer works? Too small, too big, wrong area, poor condition? A transfer to a different social home may be open to you. Here is how it works and what your chances look like.

What is a social housing transfer?

A transfer moves you from one social rented home to another. Two main routes exist:

• Mutual exchange: swapping homes with another social tenant. Both tenants apply. Both landlords must agree. Often the quickest route, because no empty home is being waited on.
• Management transfer, or internal transfer: applying to move to another home your landlord owns. It runs through the housing register or a transfer list. In high-demand areas it can take years.

Who can apply?

Most council and housing association tenants. But:

• A tenancy kept in good order is usually expected: no big arrears, no anti-social behaviour, no serious breaches
• Some landlords set a waiting period after move-in before applying
• Overcrowding or severe disrepair can sometimes justify a welfare transfer, jumping the normal queue

What are the strongest grounds?

Each landlord and council sets its own priorities. The strongest grounds, usually:

• Medical or welfare need: the home fails a disability or health condition, and medical evidence backs you
• Overcrowding: more people than the home can hold
• Severe disrepair: a condemned home, or unfixable damage that made it unlivable
• Domestic abuse: moving a survivor somewhere safer usually counts as urgent

Any of these apply? Gather evidence before applying: your doctor, an occupational therapist, or another professional.

How do I apply?

Ask the housing team about their transfer process. Usually you fill in a form and send supporting information. Medical transfers may need a health professional filling in part.

Once applied, a priority band should follow. The higher the band, the more urgent your case gets treated.

What if I disagree with my priority band?

Challenge it. Ask the landlord to review the decision. Send any extra evidence backing a higher band. A review that goes nowhere leaves the ombudsman route: the Housing Ombudsman for housing association tenants, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman for council ones.

Can disrepair help my case for a transfer?

Yes. Bad enough disrepair can support an urgent or welfare transfer. But the legal duty to repair never lifts. Report the disrepair and push for the repairs at the same time. A transfer wipes out none of the duty to fix the home. A disrepair claim may still stand.

When should I contact Support for Tenants?

We help tenants with housing disrepair claims. A social home in disrepair, with a landlord who has not acted? We may be able to help with a claim, transfer chase or not.

Call us on 0800 030 4669. No upfront cost. You only pay if you win, and the fee comes out of the compensation, not your pocket. If you don't win, you pay nothing.

Sources

• Housing Act 1996, Part 6 (allocation of housing accommodation) (legislation.gov.uk)
• Housing Act 1985 (legislation.gov.uk)

Related articles

• Housing association disrepair claim