The findings from Lloyds TSB Insurance reveal that in total 1.6 million holidaymakers have arranged a house swap in 2011, twice the number that did so last year.

But it can be a risky business, with many home-swappers rushing into their trades without proper planning – meaning they’re ill-prepared should their fellow exchangers damage their property or possessions.

This negates the primary reason for many of the swaps, with more than half of Brits (51 per cent) opting for a home-exchange as a cost-effective holiday alternative.

This may be why the top house-swap hotspots can be found so close to home, with Cornwall (34%) topping the list of exchange destinations. Devon (19%), Scotland (16%) and the Lake District (16%) have also proved to be firm favourites.

This week’s Money Marketing also reveals that around 300 brokers have been removed from Lloyds’ panel over the last year.

Practices such as over inflating income and fraudulent applications have led to brokers being suspended for interim periods of three, six or 12 months. In some cases Lloyds has stopped working with brokers on a permanent basis.

Money Marketing understands that some cases have come to light during the application process, while others have been flagged as part of Lloyds’ post-sale reviews.

The group’s figures showed that tenant numbers had jumped 44% since the beginning of 2010, with July recording the highest number of tenant applications for a single month since records began, at 20,000.

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HMRC’s Business Brief 45/10 has set out their position regarding kitchens and other communal areas for multiple occupancy dwellings such as student accommodation. This update has been awaited for some time. In summary, areas such as kitchens and lounges will now be treated as dwellings alongside tenants’ private rooms. This may have implications for VAT, and for expenditure otherwise eligible for Capital Allowances, incurred on or after 22 October 2010. Common areas such as stairs, lifts and lobbies will not be treated as comprising part of the “dwellings”.

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Assume that interest rates will never rise. Then assume that unemployment won’t rise either and that real wages won’t fall, and you can make a perfectly reasonable case to suggest that, at current levels, in terms of the percentage of an income required to service a mortgage, house prices are perfectly affordable.

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