Rightsizing – our community events helping you find the perfect home

As part of our ongoing commitment to finding our customers an appropriately sized home, we recently held two mutual exchange events at The Harebreaks and Leavesden Green community hubs, helping our residents find a property that is the right fit for them.

Rightsizing refers to the practice of moving to a home that fits a tenant’s current needs, particularly if their existing home may have become impractical for a variety of reasons such as size, mobility issues and changes in financial or familial situation.

To date, this financial year we've helped 21 residents find a home better suited to their needs via our rightsizing programme and our latest events were attended by over 30 families wanting to know more about their housing options.

Speaking at the Harebreaks event, Chennel Lamb, our Home Move Officer said: 

"We’re committed to helping our residents find the home that’s right for them, and whilst it isn’t always possible to build new homes quickly enough, we can look to our existing housing to find the right home for the right tenant. In some instances, for example, where children have grown up and moved out, the property may now be more beneficial to a young family, whilst the existing tenant might prefer a smaller, more manageable space.

“Some of our customers had previously requested information on rightsizing, so that they could make more informed decisions about their housing. That’s why we’ve hosted these events, aiming to give our customers all of the information they need and the opportunity for a mutual exchange where it is beneficial to both parties. If you’d like to discuss your housing situation, please don’t hesitate to get in touch at any time and we’ll do all we can to find you the ideal home.” 

Once a resident is on their local authority’s housing register, they can bid for advertised properties or participate in a mutual exchange – where they exchange their existing property with a third party who is also looking to move.

Residents who are looking to move to a smaller home may also be eligible for a cash incentive of up to £2,200.

If you'd like to discuss rightsizing, please don't hesitate to get in touch on 0800 218 2247 and be sure to keep an eye out for more rightsizing events coming in 2022!