Community-led housing is about local people playing a leading and lasting role in solving housing problems, creating genuinely affordable homes and strong communities in ways that are not always achieved through mainstream housing provision.
Anyone can start, volunteer and deliver a community led housing project. You don’t need to work in housing, have a degree in architecture, or be a builder. If you think a change is needed, you can lead that change.
There are a range of ways this can be done; they include Community Land Trusts (CLTs), Cooperatives, Cohousing schemes and group Self-Build. Projects can involve new homes or the refurbishment or conversion of existing buildings.
Community-led housing represents just under 1% of the nation’s housing stock, so it is currently a very small part of housing provision in this country. In comparison, 10% of the housing stock in some other European countries is community-led.
The national organisations representing the community-led housing sector have agreed on what constitutes a community-led housing scheme. It can be summarised as follows:
- A requirement that meaningful community engagement and consent occurs throughout the process. The community does not necessarily have to initiate and manage the development process or build the homes themselves, though some may do.
- The local community group or organisation owns, manages or stewards the homes and in a manner of their choosing.
- A requirement that the benefits to the local area and/or specified community must be clearly defined and legally protected in perpetuity e.g. through an asset lock.
Most community-led housing has five main features:
- It is often small scale – in rural areas, most schemes are under 20 homes and many are smaller; in urban areas, some much larger schemes are now being promoted and delivered.
- Schemes are often set up and run by local people in their own communities, usually with external help from support organisations like Communities CAN, housing associations, local authorities or national support organisations.
- It provides genuinely affordable homes for rent, shared ownership or sale on sites that are often difficult for mainstream housing providers to develop.
- Schemes meet long-term local housing needs, by the community retaining a legal and/or financial interest in the homes provided and ensuring they are always available to local people who need them.
- Community-led housing is not for profit, involving considerable voluntary effort.
One of the most popular ways of creating community-led housing is through a Community Land Trust (CLT). Over 550 CLTs now exist in England and Wales, with 2000 completed homes and a further 7000 in the pipeline. CLTs are community organisations set up and run by local people to develop and manage homes and other assets. These remain in the ownership or stewardship of the community, who have a strong say in making sure these homes are always available to local people as a priority. You can find out more by at the Community Land Trust Network website.
Northumberland has some fantastic examples of CLTs including Glendale Gateway Trust in Wooler, Holy Island of Lindisfarne Community Development and SCATA in Stocksfield.
Further Reading
Why CLH can make a difference
ABOUT US
