House Exchange

What House Exchange does

House Exchange is a not-for-profit mutual exchange service that enables social housing tenants in the United Kingdom — primarily secure tenants of local councils, assured or fixed-term tenants of housing associations, and tenants of housing co-operatives — to advertise their homes and arrange home swaps with other eligible tenants. The service operates as a joint initiative between Clarion Housing Group Limited, a charitable registered society and the UK's largest housing association (Reg No 28038R), which serves as the lead contact for customers and landlords, and 101 Smart Ltd, a private limited company in England (Reg No 5294196), which acts as the technology partner and platform operator. The platform is delivered through houseexchange.org.uk (and a mobile app for iOS and Android that is currently disabled ahead of service closure), and combines property search, automated matching, multi-way swap chain building, in-house messaging, description generation, social sharing to Facebook and X, and Google Maps-based approximate property location display.

Commercially, House Exchange is funded primarily through a partner-landlord model: councils, housing associations and co-operatives that partner with House Exchange offer the service to their tenants free of charge. Tenants whose landlord is not a partner can subscribe directly at three price points — £9.99 for 3 months, £14.99 for 6 months and £19.99 for 12 months — with payments processed by Stripe. There is a separate administrator portal for partner landlords and an integration with Homefinder UK for referral of homeless, vulnerable and overcrowded households. The platform currently lists thousands of UK properties across hundreds of towns and local authority areas; Homefinder UK has reported over 1,200 homeless placements through its wider mobility scheme.

Strategically, House Exchange is in a wind-down phase. The platform is scheduled to close on 31 July 2026; mobile apps are disabled and paid memberships will cease on that date or at renewal, whichever is earlier. Pricing is publicly disclosed but revenue, ARR and headcount figures are not. No funding rounds, acquisitions, new leadership appointments or product launches beyond pre-existing feature expansion are recorded in the supplied data, and no AI/ML capabilities are disclosed.

Name

House Exchange

Legal name

Clarion Housing Group Limited

Website

https://houseexchange.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

House Exchange is a UK not-for-profit online mutual exchange service that enables council, housing association and co-operative tenants to advertise and swap their homes nationwide, operated as a joint initiative between Clarion Housing Group and 101 Smart Ltd and scheduled to close on 31 July 2026.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mutual Exchange Services

NAICS

Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (5312)

SIC

Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)

akta.pro primary industry

Affordable Housing & First-Time Buyer Brokerage (BPAJAAAD)

Keywords

• Mutual home exchange
• Social housing relocation
• Tenant property matching
• Housing association platform
• Tenancy swap service

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Partner Landlord Access (Free Tier): Residents whose landlord is a partnering organisation access House Exchange completely free of charge. The landlord covers the cost as part of their partnership agreement with House Exchange.
2. Non-Partner Landlord Subscriptions: Residents whose landlord is not a partnering organisation pay a subscription fee to access full platform features. Subscriptions are available in three tiers: 3 months (£9.99), 6 months (£14.99), and 12 months (£19.99). Payment is processed through Stripe.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

House Exchange operates a not-for-profit online mutual exchange platform that enables UK Council, Housing Association, and Co-operative tenants to swap their homes directly with one another nationwide. The platform uses automated property matching algorithms to identify suitable swaps based on location, size, and property type, and supports both direct one-to-one exchanges and complex three-way or multi-way swap chains. Free access is provided to residents of partnering landlords, while non-partner residents pay subscription fees for full platform access.

Product overview

House Exchange is a not-for-profit mutual exchange service for UK social housing residents, operated as a partnership between Clarion Housing Group and 101 Smart Ltd. The core product is the House Exchange Platform, which enables Council, Housing Association, and Co-operative tenants to advertise their properties and find suitable home swaps nationwide. Users can access features including property photo uploads (up to 25 photos), a description generator tool, unlimited in-house messaging, match notifications, and search preference management. The platform supports both direct one-to-one swaps and multi-way swaps (three or more properties). Users can also share adverts directly to Facebook and X. A companion mobile app (currently disabled pending platform closure) provided on-the-go access. Through partnership with Homefinder UK, the service also connects users with additional social housing mobility options for vulnerable groups. The platform is scheduled to cease operations on 31 July 2026.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• House Exchange Platform A not-for-profit online mutual exchange service enabling Council, Housing Association, and Co-operative tenants across the UK to advertise their properties, search for suitable swap matches, communicate with potential swap partners via in-house messaging, and build direct or multi-way swap chains. Free for residents of partner landlords; subscription-based for non-partner residents.
• House Exchange Mobile App Free mobile application for iOS and Android enabling social housing tenants to search for property swaps, manage their adverts, and communicate with other swappers via mobile device. Currently disabled pending platform closure.

Quantifiable outcome

• Thousands of UK properties available for swap with 825 new properties recently added
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Clarion Housing Group LtdcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClarion Housing Group is the lead partner and joint operator of House Exchange. As a charitable registered society and the UK's largest housing association, Clarion Housing Group provides the housing sector credibility, tenant network access, and serves as the primary contact for customers and landlords. House Exchange is a joint initiative between Clarion Housing Group and 101 Smart Ltd.
• 101 Smart LtdcoreTechnology or Integration101 Smart Ltd is the technology partner and joint operator of House Exchange, providing the digital platform, website infrastructure, and technical development. Registered in England (Reg No 5294196) with offices in Norwich, Norfolk. Also handles website design and development.
• Homefinder UKminorGTM or Marketing PartnerHomefinder UK is a national housing mobility scheme that partners with House Exchange to provide additional housing options. House Exchange refers tenants interested in alternative housing options to Homefinder UK, which serves homeless households, those in temporary accommodation, victims of domestic abuse, and overcrowded families. Homefinder UK has rehoused over 1,200 homeless people into permanent social housing.
• Partner Landlords (Councils, Housing Associations, Co-operatives)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUK councils, housing associations, and housing co-operatives that partner with House Exchange to offer mutual exchange services to their tenants. Partner landlords enable free tenant access to the platform, manage account activations, and may have visibility into tenant messaging for support purposes.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Emerging players

• SpareRoom: UK flat-share and rooms listing platform with profile-based matching, in-platform messaging, and subscription tiers analogous to House Exchange's model. Niche player focused on shared accommodation rather than social housing exchange.
• OpenRent: UK self-serve rental platform enabling landlords to advertise and tenants to find rental properties online with messaging and matching features. Overlaps with House Exchange on its online listing and tenant-match capabilities, though it serves the private rental rather than social housing swap market.
• Nestoria: UK property search aggregator pulling listings from multiple portals with location-based matching and notifications. Offers comparable property-discovery UX to House Exchange's search functionality, though aggregated rather than niche-focussed.

Direct peers

• HomeExchange.com: Global home exchange network connecting members who swap primary residences for travel; offers subscription access and a matching platform analogous to House Exchange's tiered subscriptions, search, and member messaging capabilities.
• HomeSwapper: UK-based mutual home exchange service for social housing tenants, operating the same core swap-matching model for council and housing association tenants with similar landlord-partnership distribution. Directly competing for the same target market and offering comparable features such as property matching and messaging.
• Love Home Swap: Subscription-based home exchange platform enabling members to swap holiday homes globally. Operates the same peer-to-peer property swap/matchmaking model with tiered subscriptions, automated matching, and in-app messaging, although it targets vacation rather than permanent residence.
• Homefinder UK: National housing mobility scheme that partners with House Exchange, helping homeless individuals and families move into permanent social housing via partner landlords. Operates in the same social housing mobility space with an overlapping vulnerable-tenant user base.
• HomeSwap Direct: Direct UK mutual exchange platform for social housing tenants, providing the same swap-discovery and matching functionality as House Exchange via a partnership-led distribution model to housing associations and councils.

Broad incumbents

• Rightmove: Largest UK residential property portal covering sales, lettings, and new-build marketing. A broad incumbent in the UK real estate listings space; offers property search and messaging features that overlap with House Exchange, but does not target social housing mutual exchange specifically.
• Zoopla: Major UK property marketplace with comparable search, listing, and messaging functionality. A broad incumbent in UK real estate; competes for the same end-users in property search, though not focused on social housing swaps.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/houseexchange
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/house-exchange

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about House Exchange