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Title: 80,000 Boost to Help Tenants Move More Easily Author: St Leger Homes  ID & Publication: 20111011018 ~ The-Villager.co.uk  Area: Doncaster  Subject: Community News

Council tenants in Doncaster wanting to move home should be able to do so more easily, thanks to an £80,000 boost from the Department of Communities and Local Government.

Doncaster Council is one of 12 councils across the country to take a share of £1 million made available to make it easier for tenants in social housing to move home, which is a key priority for the Government.

Housing Minister Grant Shapps announced the funding on 27 October 2011. All of the councils involved will be testing innovative and cost-effective ways of helping existing tenants move home when their housing needs change.

In Doncaster, the money will be spent over the next two years to improve and relaunch the Mutual Exchange Register.

The Mutual Exchange Register is how council and some housing association tenants can swap properties, as long as they have their landlord's permission. The improvements will make moving home for these tenants easier, for example to move to a different area in the borough, to downsize or move to a bigger home if one is needed.

Instead of a paper register, the homes will be available to view on line, and next year an officer will be appointed to support tenants who need to move house.

On announcing the money Mr Shapps said: ‘I am pleased that Doncaster Council is one of 12 councils sharing £1million funding to help make a real difference to the future of social housing and trying new innovative ways of supporting their tenants. They will help make it much easier for tenants that want to move to do so, whether for jobs, to be closer to family or to homes better suited to their needs. This is a great opportunity to see what more we can do to increase mobility in social housing and I look forward to hearing about the progress they make, and that can be used around the country to improve the lives of all social tenants.’

Susan Jordan, Chief Executive of St Leger Homes of Doncaster – the organisation that manages just under 21,000 homes for Doncaster Council- said: ‘The improved Mutual Exchange Register will mean tenants can look for homes on line, with the adverts providing more information about the properties available, rather than searching through paper lists, and there will be a dedicated officer in post early next year who will provide support to them to help them increase their chances of moving.

‘At the moment tenants wanting to move home have to go back on the housing waiting list and it is hoped these improvements will allow current tenants to move home much more easily.’

Projects across the country include exploring the savings to landlords of tenants moving through mutual exchange and investigating the types of support – such as help lines or dedicated staff – which can best help tenants through the process of moving.

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