What is co-operative and community-led housing?

Co-operative and community-led housing means bringing people together to decide what kind of homes and communities they want to live in. People with a shared vision can come together and have an influential voice. They play an essential role alongside councils, developers and investors to create affordable homes which meet local community needs.

Co-operative and community-led housing comes in many shapes and sizes. Small groups of friends buying a house to share, leaseholders setting up a tenant management committee, community members buying local land on which to develop new housing, and people who want to develop sustainable homes – these are all examples.

People have more control of where they live, and work with others to achieve a shared goal. Communities create homes.

Ownership and control

Co-operative and community-led housing involves local people in housing decisions – so the outcomes are often more successful.

Having a voice in the development and management of homes gives residents a sense of empowerment, pride and ownership
Communities become more resilient and develop the capacity to tackle a range of issues that affect them
Anti-social behaviour is reduced
Residents feel happier being part of a supportive community satisfied

Homes are built in areas where they are needed – often this is in places which commercial developers wouldn’t consider for housing.

This improves housing supply and the provision of affordable housing
Areas which have fallen into decline can be regenerated and empty homes are returned to use
Small, tricky sites can be put to good use
The pressure on green space is reduced through shared communal spaces
More people can enjoy the benefits of home ownership, with a supportive safety net

Our support

Communities Creating Homes is here to help people develop their own co-operative and community-led housing schemes. As well as improving housing provision, we want to create a resilient Wales, a healthier Wales, a more equal Wales and a Wales of cohesive communities . It is funded by the Nationwide Foundation and Welsh Government and is delivered by Cwmpas. We know that every project is different – so our support is tailored to the needs of each community. Whether you’re new to co-operative and community-led housing, have already formed a group or want to join an existing group, we want to help.

Our support is in five stages:

Never heard of co-operative and community-led housing? We’re here to introduce the idea and see if it could be the answer to your housing problems.

Once you know a little about co-operative and community-led housing, you can find out more through our events, workshops and publications. We’ll answer all your questions and put you in touch with likeminded people to explore the potential of developing a scheme. You may be able to apply for a small grant of up to £2500.

If you’re ready to establish a housing project, we’ll support your group to develop the cohesion, capability and capacity you’ll need to make it a reality. With our essential enterprise training, technical support and advice, you’ll be ready to take the next steps.

As your plans progress, we offer operational support, peer support networks and sustainable strategies to maximise success in the long term.

You’ve achieved your vision, but we want to tell the world about your success! We commission research and promote your story so that others can learn from your experience.

Affordability statement

Communities Creating Homes is funded by Welsh Government and Nationwide Foundation to support the delivery of affordable, sustainable and community-led housing. For the purpose of determining which schemes we prioritise our offer of funded support to, we use the following definition of affordable housing taken from Planning Policy Wales:

“housing where there are secure mechanisms in place to ensure that it is accessible to those who cannot afford market housing, both on first occupation and for subsequent occupiers.”

Affordability will be more firmly determined at a local level and, should you wish to proceed with an affordable CLH development, we will help you to work with the local authority to ensure that your proposal matches their local housing market assessment (LHMA) affordable housing requirement.

If you have a community-led housing scheme in mind which, either in part or in full, does not meet the above definition of affordability, our team of accredited CLH Enablers may still be able to help you. Please contact us to discuss our rates.

Toolkit

Our toolkit contains essential information and key resources to help you set up and run a successful community-led housing (CLH) project, from the initial stages of exploration right through to building and living in or stewarding the homes.

Explore our toolkit