Changing homes
We understand that sometimes your home may no longer be suitable for a variety of reasons, and you may wish to move.
- You might be eligible to move because:
- Your family has grown
- You want to rightsize - moving from a larger home into a smaller one due to a change in circumstance.
- You have additional health needs. We may be able to support you to stay in your home.
There are a few options you can consider:
Transfer request
You will need to join the East Staffordshire Borough Council (ESBC) Housing register and bid on suitable homes advertised on the Find a Home page weekly.
Mutual exchange
You can request to swap homes with another Trent & Dove customer or social housing customer.
Adaptations
Due to medical reasons, you may feel you need to change your home, but we may be able to help with adaptations so you can stay in your home.
Leaving Trent & Dove
You may wish to leave Trent & Dove to rent privately or with another housing association. There is a process you need to complete and sign.
Transferring to another Trent & Dove home
You apply to the ESBC Housing Register, but this may take a long time as we must wait until a suitable home becomes available.
Our customers can apply to move if:
- Their current home does not meet their bedroom requirements
- Their home does not meet the medical needs of the people living there, such as they need a ground-floor apartment
- Moving will enable them to get full-time work
- It will enable them to give or receive care
- Further categories are described in the ESBC Housing Allocations Policy.
Your responsibilities
To be considered for a transfer, you must show that you are meeting the terms and conditions of your tenancy agreement.
In particular, your:
- Rent account must be up to date.
- Home must be maintained to a good standard
- Garden should be tidy and fences are intact
- Home and garden should be free from any rubbish
- Repairs will have been reported to us. Repairs that are your responsibility will have been carried out.
How do I apply to transfer?
You will need to complete our housing application form, which can be accessed through our customer "My Account" portal.
You can only notify us of a change in your circumstances and your wish to transfer homes using the Portal.
If you are already registered on our portal please log into your account and provide us with details of the change to your circumstances.
If you do not have a portal account
- Please go to the customer portal page
- Register for an account to get 24/7 access. You must enter your email address, phone number, National Insurance Number, date of birth, house number and postcode.
- Once your basic information is validated, your existing application will be available, and you can use the portal to notify us of any changes in your circumstances.
If you cannot complete the online form yourself, please contact us. Our team can help you complete the form over the phone by appointment.
Once you have a Customer Portal account, you can make changes to your application and ensure this is up to date. This could be based on a change in circumstance, such as medical. We can only consider you for housing based on the details you have given us.
Applying for a different home
Once you have updated your application, you can bid on homes through our Find a Home page. If your bid is successful, we will phone you to conduct a pre-tenancy assessment and affordability check.
You'll need to:
- Allow us to inspect your home and garden
- Put right any alterations to your home if you've been advised that they need to be removed
- Maintain your home in accordance with your tenancy agreement
Mutual exchange
If you want to move house quickly, we recommend looking for a mutual exchange. This is when two customers of any housing association decide to swap homes. Both customers must have permission from their landlords, and their rent accounts must be up to date.
You can swap with:
- Another Trent & Dove customer
- Another local authority customer
- Another housing association customer
Both parties submit an application to exchange tenancies. You must not move until we tell you to.
Please be aware that we will continue to carry out wear and tear repairs, however, we will not be responsible for the condition of the home you move into. When you exchange, anything classified as a 'tenant’s liability' in your new home will become your responsibility.
More about Mutual Exchanges
Download Mutual Exchange Application Form
Homeswapper
We recommend using Homeswapper to help you find a mutual exchange partner. It is an online platform to help match social housing tenants with suitable properties.
Sign up to Homeswapper
Leaving Trent & Dove
You can give us notice by completing our Tenancy Termination form.
Please email it to us at hello@trentanddove.org or print and send it to us by post. Alternatively, you can call our Customer Services Team on 01283 528 528 to request a form, which can be signed digitally and emailed to you.
There is then a four-week notice period required, which will start from the Monday after we receive the termination form.
Keys must be returned before the end of the notice period otherwise you may be liable for a further week’s rent until the keys are returned.
Please note that once a notice of termination has been received by us, you are unable to change your mind, and the tenancy will end.
If you are an assured tenant of Trent & Dove and were previously a secure tenant of East Staffordshire Borough Council (ESBC) you may have what is known as the Preserved Right to Buy.
This only applies if you were living in your home when it was transferred by ESBC to Trent & Dove in March 2001. The Preserved Right to Buy is lost if you move to a property owned by another housing association or where your tenancy is terminated or when you move to a property in the private sector.