What is a student housing co-operative?
|
Current student housing provided by private landlords is often overpriced, poor quality and badly maintained. What alternative can we offer by working together?
· HOUSING OWNED AND RUN BY STUDENTS
· STUDENT CONTROL OVER THEIR OWN HOUSE
· NOT-FOR-PROFIT HOUSING TO BRING DOWN RENT
· HONESTY
· BETTER QUALITY OF HOUSING AND LIVING
· A COMMUNITY OF STUDENTS WHO CARE ABOUT WHERE THEY LIVE
HOUSING OWNED AND RUN BY STUDENTS
A housing co-operative is a registered not-for-profit company. It is made up of members who buy a £1 share. Members buy their shares when they move in to the house and sell their shares back to the co-op when they leave. The members run the co-operative and the house through democratic meetings. The co-op is an independent body, which means that its members can change over time, but the co-op and the house stay in place.
STUDENT CONTROL OVER THEIR OWN HOUSE
The house is democratically run through meetings where each member has one vote. In meetings the co-op members can decide on smaller things like cooking, cleaning and how the house is decorated. They can also decide upon spending money upon improvements, such as getting better double-glazed windows, or new additions to the house, such as creating an allotment or a bike shed. They will also be able to employ other companies to help with services like rent collection or repairs.
Decisions affecting the whole co-operative are made in general meetings. Decisions such as whether to buy a new house, change rents or renovate a house would be made in general meetings. Day to day running of the co-op would be done by elected representatives from the members of the co-op.
NOT-FOR-PROFIT HOUSING TO BRING DOWN RENT
To make sure the co-op is able to pay back its loans the rent in the beginning will either match, or be lower than, the average rent for the city. For Sheffield, this works out as about £65 a week per person. Some of this money will go to paying for services and repairs. The rest of the income gets re-invested back in to the co-op and goes to paying off the mortgage on the house. After 15-20 years the mortgage will be paid off and the co-op will own the house outright. There are a number of options the co-op could take at this point: rents could be lowered, the money could go towards larger improvements for the house like solar panels, or the co-op could choose to grow by investing in more property and getting more members.
HONESTY
The organisation and the finances of the co-op will be completely open and transparent. This means that everyone will be able to see exactly where every penny of the co-op’s money goes. This is important for the members to be able to make informed choices about running the co-op. This information will also be available for the general public to see, in order to demonstrate clearly how not-for-profit student housing works.
BETTER QUALITY OF HOUSING AND LIVING
Ensuring high quality housing will be a priority for the co-op because they are the people that have to live there! The co-op aims to create houses that are enjoyable to live in and feel like real houses! Overtime the co-op members will contribute to the house through buying or building new furniture, but also adding more personal touches like plants, posters or a joint book collection.
A COMMUNITY OF STUDENTS WHO CARE ABOUT WHERE THEY LIVE
The co-op will have strong links within the local community, which could be passed on to future members. Co-op members could have a tradition of helping out with local community projects like social centres, allotments or libraries. Members can leave the co-op after a year, they simply sell their £1 share and a new member buys a £1 share to replace them. Co-op members will also run workshops and talks on co-op living to reach out and involve new students. Undergraduate and graduate students are welcome to stay in the co-op for more than a year, and this would hopefully create a cross-over period where new members could learn from the older members. Finally, the co-op’s three founding members and a representative from the students’ union will take part in the co-op’s larger meetings and will provide ongoing support.
A housing co-operative is a registered not-for-profit company. It is made up of members who buy a £1 share. Members buy their shares when they move in to the house and sell their shares back to the co-op when they leave. The members run the co-operative and the house through democratic meetings. The co-op is an independent body, which means that its members can change over time, but the co-op and the house stay in place.
STUDENT CONTROL OVER THEIR OWN HOUSE
The house is democratically run through meetings where each member has one vote. In meetings the co-op members can decide on smaller things like cooking, cleaning and how the house is decorated. They can also decide upon spending money upon improvements, such as getting better double-glazed windows, or new additions to the house, such as creating an allotment or a bike shed. They will also be able to employ other companies to help with services like rent collection or repairs.
Decisions affecting the whole co-operative are made in general meetings. Decisions such as whether to buy a new house, change rents or renovate a house would be made in general meetings. Day to day running of the co-op would be done by elected representatives from the members of the co-op.
NOT-FOR-PROFIT HOUSING TO BRING DOWN RENT
To make sure the co-op is able to pay back its loans the rent in the beginning will either match, or be lower than, the average rent for the city. For Sheffield, this works out as about £65 a week per person. Some of this money will go to paying for services and repairs. The rest of the income gets re-invested back in to the co-op and goes to paying off the mortgage on the house. After 15-20 years the mortgage will be paid off and the co-op will own the house outright. There are a number of options the co-op could take at this point: rents could be lowered, the money could go towards larger improvements for the house like solar panels, or the co-op could choose to grow by investing in more property and getting more members.
HONESTY
The organisation and the finances of the co-op will be completely open and transparent. This means that everyone will be able to see exactly where every penny of the co-op’s money goes. This is important for the members to be able to make informed choices about running the co-op. This information will also be available for the general public to see, in order to demonstrate clearly how not-for-profit student housing works.
BETTER QUALITY OF HOUSING AND LIVING
Ensuring high quality housing will be a priority for the co-op because they are the people that have to live there! The co-op aims to create houses that are enjoyable to live in and feel like real houses! Overtime the co-op members will contribute to the house through buying or building new furniture, but also adding more personal touches like plants, posters or a joint book collection.
A COMMUNITY OF STUDENTS WHO CARE ABOUT WHERE THEY LIVE
The co-op will have strong links within the local community, which could be passed on to future members. Co-op members could have a tradition of helping out with local community projects like social centres, allotments or libraries. Members can leave the co-op after a year, they simply sell their £1 share and a new member buys a £1 share to replace them. Co-op members will also run workshops and talks on co-op living to reach out and involve new students. Undergraduate and graduate students are welcome to stay in the co-op for more than a year, and this would hopefully create a cross-over period where new members could learn from the older members. Finally, the co-op’s three founding members and a representative from the students’ union will take part in the co-op’s larger meetings and will provide ongoing support.