How to Set Up a Housing Co-operative

Description

The 2015 updated version.

What is a Housing Co-operative?
A housing co-operative is not bricks
and mortar, it’s a group of people and
the means they use to collectively
control and manage their housing. It
can buy and own property and enter
into contracts.
Co-operatives are essentially housing
associations governed by the tenants/
members and give grass roots
control over housing. They provide
rented housing without landlords,
or rather the tenants are collectively
their own landlord. By setting up
housing co-operatives we empower
ourselves to take control over one of
the most fundamental aspects of our
lives and in the process we transfer
property from private ownership to
common ownership. Registering as
an Industrial and Provident Society
gives a group the legal structure
which allows it to operate as a cooperative.
One of the main benefi ts
of this structure is that Industrial and
Provident Societies are entitled to
advertise and issue loan stock to the
public. Loan stock is a means of
borrowing money from sympathetic
individuals and organisations without
giving the holder any measure of
control over the co-operative.
People set up housing co-operatives
for a variety of reasons. Often they
have relatively meagre incomes and
are unable to afford a decent secure
home without joining with others
to pool resources and commitment.
However, there are usually other
links within such groups. People
who might have diffi culty fi nding
suitable housing because of prejudice
surrounding their age, race, creed or
gender have formed co-operatives.
There are housing co-operatives for
pensioners, black people, women
and refugees. Sometimes a workers’
co-operative will wish to house its
members and develop a largely selfcontained
community, providing work
and a home.
Coventry Peace House is an urban
co-op dedicated to peace, Fox housing
co-op has a focus on living simply,
with environmentally sound practices,
and also rents growing land and
houses members of Organics to Go,
an organic veg home delivery service.
Whatever the common aim, a cooperative
can be formed to cater for
the particular needs and ideology of a
particular group.