vallierojas: Housing co-ops: how to make them work

Co-operative living offers a not-for-profit way to avoid the property casino ? here's how one group did it

Housing co-operatives are common in many parts of the world but have never really taken off in the UK. But is that about to change? Community co-operatives have rescued pubs, shops and other vital amenities. Now, with sky-high property prices in many parts of the UK, groups of like-minded people are coming together to form co-ops to buy a property to live in ? something they would never be able to do individually.

Robert Morris, 34, is one of eight people of varying ages and backgrounds about to move into a derelict former children's care home in east London. They set up a housing co-op so they could buy a place to fulfil their dream of living together "collectively" in order to pursue a sustainable, less consumer-oriented lifestyle. Now the dream has become a reality. Planning permission has been granted for a change of use, contracts have been exchanged, and the members will be moving into the 10-bedroom detached Victorian property within a few weeks.

The eight members range in age from 30 to 68. Some are Londoners, but not all. In addition to Robert, who works as a Linux server engineer, the group includes Catherine, a teacher; Liz, associate editor for a national magazine; Phil, a permaculture gardener and community activist; Tricia, who teaches English as a foreign language; Melissa, a university lecturer; Tom, a software tester; and Charles, an industrial engineer, systems analyst and musician.

They are looking for a few more people to join them, but say only those with a genuine desire to live collectively need apply: "If you just want a room and cheap rent, this won't be for you." The group are aware that, for some observers, talk of creating an "intentional community" based on shared values and communal activities might conjure up images of hippy communes, religious cults and 1970s sitcom The Good Life.

It's something the group tackle on their website: "This is not about escaping to a rural ideal or trying to create a pretend one in the city. It's about facing the very real challenges of living sustainably in a large urban centre like London. This means a commitment to living in a different way. It also means being realistic about the challenges. It's not an episode of Friends! Nor is it a way of getting cheap rent, having free love or joining a cult ? and families and children can certainly be a part of the community."

The co-operative paid �620,000 for the property in Walthamstow, with the purchase financed by loans from Co-operative & Community Finance (which lends to organisations owned and controlled by their members) and a linked organisation, the Co-operative Loan Fund, plus various individuals and other housing co-ops. But the bulk of the money came in the form of a 75% mortgage from Yorkshire-based Ecology building society.

Wannabe housing co-ops face a number of hurdles in setting up. Cath Muller at Radical Routes, a network of housing co-ops, says it is particularly hard to start one in London "because the property market is so skewed".

With so many people locked out of the market, many would say a co-operative approach to property ownership makes a lot of economic sense. But the Walthamstow members say it would be misleading to view what they are doing as an alternative way for would-be first-time buyers to get a foot on the property ladder.

The Drive housing co-op has been structured as a registered not-for-profit body that owns the property and provides accommodation on a purely rental basis. Only the tenants can be members, and they will pay about �500 a month in rent to the co-op, which will be their landlord. Each member has a single �1 share, and, crucially, individual members can't gain or lose from changes in the value of the property.

"This arrangement gives individual members the freedom to come and go if their circumstances change, while giving the co-operative as a whole continuity and stability," says the group. The fact that people are renting rather than buying "is quite an important aspect for some of the members ? indeed, a couple of them are actually getting off the property ladder".

Any theoretical profits ? for example, if the property was to be sold for more than the co-op paid for it ? would go to the co-operative movement (this was a condition of the funding they received). In reality, says Morris, if everyone ended up moving out, what would probably happen is that a new group would be found to move in.

He points out that "fully mutual" housing co-ops such as theirs give people the chance to experience many of the advantages that homeowners enjoy, such as security of tenure and being able to control spending on repairs and improvements. Also, no significant upfront capital is required to join.

The co-op's members intend to grow a significant proportion of their own food ? "not just a couple of lettuces to make us feel nice" ? and buy the rest from local and/or ethical suppliers. They also want to reduce their impact on the environment. Plans include growing a herb garden and learning to treat minor illnesses, organising workshops and other events and collectively reducing their meat consumption.

They are also keen to look into the possibility of selling surplus produce through "crop share" schemes. Longer term, the group would like to move "off-grid" for water and electricity, and may explore making their own solar panels or small wind turbines from second-hand materials.

So how did they all meet? A couple of the members already knew each other, and called a meeting to explore the idea. That was early last year, and things progressed from there, with several members responding to online ads.

Tricia Vickery, who at 68 is the oldest member, joined the group after seeing some information about The Drive co-op on the Radical Routes website. She got in touch and started going to the regular meetings.

Vickery, who lives just outside Nottingham, says she is really excited to be doing this at this stage of her life, and is hopefully helping to disprove the stereotype that living collectively is only for young people. "I'd like to think the co-op will benefit from my life experience. It's a great group of people and I found it a very exciting thing to be doing. It's not going to be easy ? we've never lived together before ? but it's a like-mindedness that is there."

Now single ? she has been divorced for many years ? Vickery spent some time living in Italy. "I've been trying for some years to get to London [but] the housing situation is impossible," she says, adding: "My generation need to be thinking outside the box."

The group had to overcome a number of obstacles to reach this stage, says Morris. It had to find a suitable property, sort out the finance, negotiate with estate agents, apply for planning permission to change the use of the building, and form an "industrial and provident society" to raise additional funds to meet some of the costs and finance the sustainability measures members want to introduce, while at the same time building up a strong group of like-minded people.

"We haven't received any grants or handouts," Morris adds. "It's important to us that we pay our own way and that the whole project is self-funding and sustainable."

Rupert Jones

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