communityled.homes

We support people making homes together through Cohousing, Community Land Trusts, and Housing Co-operatives

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Collective Ownership member event

This weekend saw the first Collective Ownership member event, convening a powerful mix of prospective members and existing co-operatives. Collective Ownership offers impactful investment opportunities to address the private rental crisis, with fair, resident-controlled housing.

The energy at this introductory event was focused on tangible progress. We presented our refined model and how Collective Ownership structures property acquisitions, transforming them into secure, long-term homes for disempowered renters fed up with a lack of control over their homes.

Our partners, Community Assets for Society and Housing (CASH), presented their complementary work focusing on training and preparing a community share issue. CASH also led a jargon busting session to help break down what can sometimes be complex governance issues into something which everyone could get a grip on.

Collaborative breakout sessions saw members sharing experiences and mapping next steps particularly around spreading the word and attracting funding and investment.
The consensus was clear: by aligning efforts, we can scale community-led housing effectively.

 

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Gida Housing Co-op seeks registration

Gida Housing Co-operative reached an important milestone in submitting their detailed (stage 2) information to the Regulator for Social Housing with the aim becoming a Registered Provider (RP).
This has involved careful methodical work in considering and developing every aspect of the organisation and their project; something we have supported each step of the way, alongside other experts and CDS Co-operatives as intended managing agent.

Gida aims to provide affordable rented housing for black and minoritised communities in Tottenham. We have historically helped Gida become preferred bidder to purchase 58 homes in the St. Ann’s scheme developed by Peabody/Hill on GLA owned land.

More recently We have been instrumental in proposing and finalising key legal arrangements, which secure the opportunity, while ‘threading the needle’ of becoming a Registered Provider of Social Housing.

 

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Cohousing Exeter

Cohousing Exeter is a newly forming group, looking for people interested in neighbourly living and active aging with some shared spaces, alongside individual homes.

Cohousing Exeter has a developer and a site for around 30 homes.

It is the first project we’re working on, using our Build Belonging methodology, which we’ve been developing and refining for the past couple of years.

Unlike traditional approaches to cohousing which start with a group, we’re starting with an enabling developer and a clear site, and acting as facilitators to convene a group of future residents around the project, and working with them to form a community and shape decisions. Our approach works across the physical, social, and organisational aspects of community led housing to create mutually supportive cultures in any new housing development, addressing isolation, raising well-being and quality of life.

Cohousing Exeter will focus on active aging. If you’re interested in living in Exeter with community baked into the foundations, or know someone who might be, we are seeking interest to attend future talks and meetings.

We are also exploring possibilities with developers in London, and would love to discuss any opportunities at an early stage.

In the meantime, we’re forming a committed group of initial members, whom we meet with regularly to equip them with skills and resources to develop decision making and membership policies and understand legal and financial considerations, while exploring massing ideas and layout options with Pollard Thomas Edwards architects in paralel.

 

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Intergenerational communal housing

We are helping to host the launch of some interesting work by Savannah Fishel drawing lessons from intergenerational cohousing communities in the USA and Australia. Her observations reflect our experience in the UK, and help deepen our approach to Build Belonging, where we turn developments into strong communities with a sense of belonging and neighbourly living.

The launch on 16 July includes a brief exhibition of case studies. The report will draw out the conditions that contribute to social cohesion between generations, and the strategies, interventions or designs that are effective in mitigating friction and helping a community to thrive.

 

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Urban Design Group

The Summer 2025 edition of the Urban Design Journal focuses on the increasing influence of community-led organisations in delivering new neighbourhoods.

We have a piece on giving people control and belonging, without the challenges encountered in traditional approaches to community led housing. Collective Ownership offers control and security for private renters with increasing affordability over time. Build Belonging is a form of custom built cohousing where we help developers incorporate the social and design principles of CLH into their developments, and forge communities around these projects.

We also reference RUSS and NW3 CLT, and other articles consider projects we’ve supported such as Squeezed London and Surge Co-operative.

On Monday 14 July, our director, Levent Kerimol, will take part in a discussion on Community Led Urbanism to explain how we’re taking forward these approaches to a wider number of people, chaired by Paul Reynolds, UDG Chair and Topic Editor for this latest edition of the Journal.

 

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