A housing association has invited tenants to attend a 'speed-dating' event encouraging residents to exchange homes.

Circle Housing Merton Priory (CHMP), which owns the majority of Merton's social housing, will welcome potential home-swappers to assess the market at the Wandle Resource Centre in Mitcham tomorrow afternoon. 

Speed-daters will wear a badge showing the type of property they are looking for with details of their current home as they mingle in the hope of finding their dream match.

If successful, there will be seven members of staff available to help home-swappers finalise the exchange, or take them to the next stage.

For those not lucky enough to find their dream home on the night, there will be a chance to sign up and bid for a home swap on website House Exchange, featuring more than 35,000 Circle Housing London properties.

Kim Doran, House Exchange manager, said: "Mutual exchanges can be the perfect solution if you are desperate to find a bigger or smaller home or need to move to be closer to work or family.

"We want to show social housing tenants in Merton and surrounding areas how simple it can really be and hope to help engineer successful swaps during the day."

According to figures released by CHMP, eight out of 10 people who use House Exchange find a match in less than six months.

Speed-dating sessions for house-hunters were launched by Circle Housing in Norwich last summer following the introduction of the bedroom tax, leaving many tenants keen to shed a spare room.

Merton's first event will take place on Tuesday, July 1, from 12pm to 4.30pm.

For more information, visit houseexchange.org.uk