Early access — all Premium features free until September • 🏆 Win £500
How to set your ideal swap criteria and understand how match percentages are calculated.
Your swap preferences tell other tenants — and our matching system — exactly what you are looking for in a new home. They cover everything from which areas you would move to, how many bedrooms you need, what type of property you want, and which features are most important to you.
Think of them as your wish list. The more detailed you are, the better we can match you with compatible listings. And when another tenant views your listing, they can see at a glance whether your needs align with what they are offering.
Head to your Swap Preferences page from your dashboard. You will find it in the main navigation under your account. The form walks you through each category step by step.
Your preferences are also set during listing creation. When you create or edit a listing, the "What are you looking for?" section feeds into the same system. Changes in one place are synced to the other, so you only need to update once.
You might notice your listing has "wanted" fields (wanted areas, wanted bedrooms, etc.) and you also have a separate swap preferences page. These are kept in sync. When you update your swap preferences, your listing's wanted fields update too — and vice versa. They are two views of the same data.
Your swap preferences power three things on the platform:
Every listing you see shows a match percentage — a forward match score based on how well that property meets your stated preferences. A listing in your preferred area, with the right number of bedrooms and your must-have features, will score higher. This helps you spot the best options at a glance.
When you open the search page, your preferences are used to pre-fill the filters. If you have set a preferred area and bedroom count, the search starts with those already applied — saving you time and showing you the most relevant results first.
We use your preferences to surface listings you might have missed. These recommendations appear on your dashboard and are based on your area preferences, bedroom needs, and property type — not just what you have searched for recently.
The match percentage you see on each listing is a forward match — it measures how well that property matches what you want (not how well your property matches what they want). The score is calculated from five weighted categories:
Is the property in one of your preferred areas?
Does it meet your minimum bedroom requirement?
Is it the type of property you are looking for?
Does it have your must-have features (garden, parking, etc.)?
Area type, age restriction compatibility, and other factors.
A listing scoring 60% or above is considered a strong forward match. For a deeper dive into how matching works, see our Understanding Match Percentages guide.
The more areas you are open to, the more potential matches you will see. If you only select one small town, you might miss great properties in neighbouring areas. Cast a wider net.
Every must-have feature you add narrows your results. A garden might be essential, but do you really need a driveway and a garage and a shed? The fewer hard requirements, the higher your match scores.
If you want a house but would consider a maisonette, select both. A ground-floor maisonette with a garden might tick every box a house would.
Your circumstances change. Maybe you were set on 3 bedrooms but your eldest has moved out. Update your preferences and your match scores will recalculate across the entire site.
No, but we strongly recommend it. Without preferences, we cannot calculate match percentages for you, and your listing will not appear in other tenants' "properties you may like" recommendations. It takes just a couple of minutes to fill in.
A forward match measures how well a listing meets YOUR preferences. A mutual match would mean both of you are a good fit for each other. Currently, the percentage shown is a forward match (60% threshold for "strong match"). We are working on mutual match indicators for the future.
Yes. Head to your Swap Preferences page and update anything. Changes take effect immediately — match percentages recalculate the next time someone views your listing or you browse search results.
Match percentages are personal. They are calculated based on YOUR preferences. If you and your partner have separate accounts with different preferences set, you will see different scores for the same listing.
No. Anyone with a premium account can message you regardless of match percentage. Preferences only affect match scores and recommendations — they do not restrict who can contact you.
Start broad. Select several areas you would consider, and set your bedroom count and property type. As you browse listings and get a feel for what is available, you can narrow your preferences down over time.
Search filters are what you apply when actively searching (postcode, radius, rent, urgency, etc.). Preferences are your standing criteria that power match percentages and recommendations in the background. Your preferences pre-fill your search filters for convenience, but you can override them on any search.
The more we know about what you are looking for, the better matches we can show you. It only takes two minutes.
We use cookies to improve your experience, analyse site traffic, and show relevant adverts. You can choose which cookies to accept. Read our Cookie Policy
Required for the site to work. Login, security, and core functionality. Cannot be disabled.
Help us understand how visitors use the site so we can improve it. Uses Google Analytics.
Used to show you relevant adverts on the site via Google AdSense. Free accounts see adverts to keep the platform free.