home swap holiday

stg123

Hi all,

I am thinking of doing a home swap holiday. I'm finding it really hard to find out what the legal situation is. I've found various template swap agreements on the internet, but they really don't look like binding agreements.

My main concern is what happens in the worst case - say the other party end up refusing to leave. I'm assuming that there is no tenancy agreement, so they'd be treated as a squatter, rather than as a tenant? Seems to make a big difference in terms of how quickly you can get them out of the property. I'm sure this is super-rare, I'm just surprised that the home swap sites are all so vague about what sort of agreement a home swap actually is.

missile

I toyed with the idea. It seems most people have a good experience. Like you, I considered there are risks, e.g. what happens if they trash your home?

Accidents can happen and I doubt home swap agreement covers things like this https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5702655

ManofLeisure_2

I think a spirit of trust is an essential part of the home swap community, and if you are very worried about people being in your house or what might happen, it is probably not for you. Some sites offer the option of security deposits; we have never used them. On the two occasions we have embarked upon home swaps we ensured that we had regular contact with the 'home swap family' and this in turn was invaluable for many reasons.