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How to contact other tenants, start conversations, and make the most of our messaging system.
Messaging is how you connect with other tenants about a potential swap. Whether you have found someone in your ideal area or spotted a listing that ticks every box, sending a message is the first step towards making a swap happen.
We have built our messaging system to be simple and safe. Every conversation is private between you and the other tenant, and our profanity filter keeps things respectful. You can message from a listing page, directly from search results, or from your inbox.
How much you can do with messaging depends on whether you are on a free or premium account. Here is the breakdown.
Premium is free during early access until September 2026. Activate now.
Open any listing and click the "Message" button. Premium users get a direct message form. Free users see an email relay contact form that sends your enquiry to the listing owner.
Premium users can message directly from the search results page without opening the full listing. Spotted someone perfect? Fire off a quick message straight away.
Head to your inbox to see all ongoing conversations. Click into any conversation to continue chatting. Messages appear as chat bubbles — your messages on the right, theirs on the left.
You will never miss a message. When someone contacts you, you will see a notification bell icon in the top navigation bar showing your unread count. We also send you an email alert so you know even when you are not logged in.
You can control email notifications from your notification preferences in settings. Turn off message email alerts if you prefer to check your inbox manually.
Tenants who respond within 24 hours are far more likely to agree a swap. If someone has taken the time to message you, a quick reply — even just to say "thanks, let me have a think" — goes a long way.
All messages pass through our profanity filter to keep conversations respectful. If someone is rude, spammy, or makes you uncomfortable, you can block them from their profile or conversation — they will not be able to contact you again, and their listings will disappear from your search results.
You can also report a user if their behaviour breaks our terms. Our team reviews every report.
Mention which areas you are looking in, how many bedrooms you need, and your timeline. Vague messages get fewer replies.
If you have arrears, a large household, or pets, mention it early. Surprises later in the process waste everyone's time.
Even if you are not interested, a polite "thanks but it's not for me" lets the other person move on to other options.
Keep initial conversations on the platform. Share phone numbers and addresses only once you are serious about proceeding.
We want MutualExchange to be free to use for listing your home and browsing — and it always will be. But running a messaging system costs money (servers, storage, email delivery), and we need a sustainable way to keep the platform going.
Allowing premium users to initiate conversations means we can offer a genuinely useful free tier (you can still receive messages and reply to them) while giving paying members extra value. It also reduces spam — users who pay are serious about swapping.
During our early access period, premium is completely free. Activate premium now and get full messaging access at no cost. See our pricing page for details on what happens after September 2026.
You need to have a published listing to send or receive messages. This ensures everyone on the platform is a genuine tenant with a real property to swap.
Yes, by default we send an email notification for every new message. You can turn this off in your notification preferences under account settings.
Read receipts show you when the other person has seen your message. A small "Read" indicator appears below your sent message once they have opened the conversation. This feature is available to premium users only.
You cannot delete individual messages, but you can block a user to close off the conversation permanently. This is by design — it protects both parties by keeping a record of what was discussed.
For free users, the contact form on a listing page sends an email to the listing owner on your behalf. They can then choose to reply, which starts a conversation in the inbox. It is a bridge between free and premium messaging.
From a conversation or user profile, click the Block button. Blocked users cannot message you, and their listings are hidden from your search results. You can unblock them later from your settings.
There is no message limit for premium users. Free users can reply as many times as they like within existing conversations — they just cannot start new ones.
Not currently. We recommend directing people to your listing where they can see all your property photos. If you need to share something specific, you could describe it in the message.
Create your free account and start connecting with tenants who want to swap. Premium messaging is free during early access.
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