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For many countries and regions in the world, you can swap your home without any legal ramifications. As long as you are either the homeowner, or you have permission from the homeowner (for example, if you are a tenant in a rented home), you can decide when to home swap, and for how long you are willing to let others stay in your home.
However, a couple of countries and cities have decided to implement rules on the circumstances under which you are allowed to share your home with guests, so it’s important to check that you are complying with any local legislation or requirements.
At this moment in time (July 2022) these are the areas where we know restrictions are in place:
Spain
Owners of Spanish properties who welcome guests into their home must allow us (Love Home Swap) to report details of every trip. You must therefore provide us with:
- The cadastral number for your property
- ONE of the following: your NIF number; your NIF-VAT number; your passport number; the official identity document of your country of residence; or your residence certificate.
Guests who stay in a Love Home Swap member’s property in Spain must allow us (Love Home Swap) to report details of the trip. You must therefore provide us with:
- ONE of the following: your NIF number; your NIF-VAT number; your passport number; the official identity document of your country of residence; or your residence certificate.
More information can be found here and here.
Amsterdam
Owners of Amsterdam properties must acquire a permit before they can rent out their property to tourists. While the ruling primarily relates to properties that are used to earn rental income (whereas home swapping agreed via Love Home Swap doesn’t result in any rental income), we have been included within the scope of the legislation.
More information can be found here and here.
Scotland
Owners of short-term lets (including home swaps) must obtain a license for a small fee before they can welcome guests into their homes. This license will be valid for 3-years.
More information can be found here, here and here.
Please bear in mind that this may not be an exhaustive list, and that more countries, cities or regions may decide to define their own limitations. Northern Ireland, Wales, Greece and Portugal are also considering whether they might implement licensing schemes or electronic registers (though it is entirely possible they won’t), so keep a close eye on how these consultation progress. We’ll do our best to keep this information up-to-date, but it’s ultimately up to our members to make sure they’re exchanging their homes in-line with any local legislation.
And of course, if you know of any upcoming changes to your local guidelines, then please do drop us a line to share this knowledge so that we can update this article. After all, sharing is caring!
