Social Housing Done Differently

Helping communities work together to meet their common needs and solve collective problems.

Case Study

Lead Member Co-operatives UK
Categories Housing
Assets Download Case Study

Principles met

Co-production

We will develop systems that enable citizens to be equal partners in designing and commissioning public services and in determining the use of public resources.
Democratic engagement

We will support the active engagement of the full range of residents in decision making and priority setting.
Social partnership

We will strengthen the co-operative partnership between citizens, communities, enterprises and Councils, based on a shared sense of responsibility for wellbeing and mutual benefit.

Co-operatives are innovators by nature, helping communities work together to meet their common needs and solve collective problems. As the national association for the co-operative movement, Co-operatives UK works with many great examples of co-operation, promoting, supporting and empowering our members. We facilitate members to work together to solve collective problems together, we also work to promote the fantastic work many of our members are doing. Therefore in this case study we are keen to highlight the excellent work of our member West Granton Housing Co-operative in Edinburgh.

Housing remains one of the key issues facing communities, with the cost of average renting rising by 8.3% to £1,220 a month[i]. The cost of rent is driving more families into poverty[ii] and 2023 saw 39% rise in number of no-fault evictions from the year previous and with less social housing[iii] the waiting list for social housing is now over 1 million strong[iv]. Among those who are living in social housing many are facing unaccountable landlords, living in poor quality homes[v], we are living through a housing crisis that is giving communities little control over their houses and by extension little control over their lives. This is where housing co-operatives like West Granton come in, tackling the housing crisis by giving residents affordable rents with greater democratic control over the homes by putting tenants first.

[i] https://www.zoopla.co.uk/discover/property-news/average-rent-uk/

[ii] https://www.caee.org.uk/rents-are-unsustainable-and-driving-an-inexorable-rise-in-homelessness/

[iii] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/feb/08/renters-in-england-face-rising-no-fault-evictions-as-reform-bill-delayed-again

[iv]https://england.shelter.org.uk/support_us/campaigns/social_housing_deficit#:~:text=Yet%2C%20not%20enough%20social%20homes,than%20there%20were%20in%201980.

[v] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/social-housing-quality