Pioneering ‘no match, no fee’ promise puts House Exchange streets ahead of rivals

Published by Anonymous for Circle in Housing

PRESS RELEASE

8 October 2012

Pioneering ‘no match, no fee’ promise puts House Exchange streets ahead of rivals

Social housing tenants looking to swap homes can now advertise their properties for free, as House Exchange – the UK’s leading not-for-profit mutual exchange service – launches its pioneering ‘no match, no fee’ promise today.

The ‘no match, no fee’ promise means that new tenants using House Exchange now need only pay for the service once they have found a potential swap. It aims to attract hundreds more social tenants who have been interested in switching homes but put off by upfront costs.

‘No match, no fee’ comes as part of a substantial upgrade to the House Exchange website, which currently sees around 1,800 tenants swap homes each month. The revamped site also hosts information on low cost ownership, money advice and has a useful fuel bill calculator, making it much easier for tenants to access a whole range of information about moving home. The new elements build on the success of long-standing features unique to House Exchange, such as real time searching and three-way swaps, which have helped keep the service streets ahead of its rivals.

House Exchange Manager, Kim Doran, said: “We want to make House Exchange as accessible as possible for landlords and for tenants. Many people we work with are on low incomes. They don’t know how long it will take to swap homes and they can be put off by the upfront costs traditionally levied by mutual exchange providers. Our ‘no match, no fee’ promise aims to resolve this problem, and encourage more people to advertise their home. It’s just another great feature to help make us the mutual exchange service of choice.”

 -Ends-

Note to Editors

For further information please contact Circle press office on 0845 234 0824 or email pressoffice@circle.org.uk.

About Circle

Circle is one of theUK’s leading providers of affordable housing. With a dedicated team of more than 2,200 staff, Circle manages more than 63,000 homes, including supported and sheltered housing, for around 200,000 people across theUK.

Its mission is to enhance the Life Chances of its residents by providing great homes and reliable services, and building sustainable communities.

The Circle group includes 12 partners. Nine registered providers (RPs): South Anglia Housing, Wherry Housing Association, Old Ford Housing Association, Circle 33 Housing Trust, Merton Priory Homes, Mole Valley Housing Association, Mercian Housing Association, Roddons Housing Association and Russet Homes; two support & care partners: Circle Support and Invicta Telecare, as well as Circle Living for sales and marketing and management of shared ownership, market rent and private sale properties, and property repairs.

For more information about Circle and its partners, please visit www.circle.org.uk