Bringing Democracy Home report calls for housing system to adopt 'mutual solutions' » Housing » 24dash.com

The national Commission on Co-operative and Mutual Housing has called for residents of every town, village and community in England to have access to co-operative or mutual housing options as part of the mainstream housing system by 2030.

The call is made in the Commission’s final report ‘Bringing Democracy Home’ after 18 months weighing the evidence provided by independent research and hearings with political parties and civil servants, the financial sector, co-operatives, housing organisations, local authorities and key individuals.

The launch of the Commission’s report at Parliament tomorrow (November 24) is against the backdrop of increasing political debate about public service delivery and mutuality.

Proposals to introduce John Lewis-style partnerships and mutual solutions into the public sector are coming from both Labour and the Conservatives, although with different emphases.

Labour stresses the role of a large and active state as essential to facilitate grassroots approaches while the Conservatives advocate harnessing a ‘Big Society’ to encourage the involvement of people locally.

Commission Chair and Building Societies Association Director-General Adrian Coles, said: “The Commission’s report concludes that the English housing system would be an ideal policy arena in which co-operative and mutual approaches could be expanded to bring the UK in line with most other European countries which have far more developed sectors.

"Unlike the UK with 0.6 percent of housing as co-operatives or mutuals, in Sweden it’s 18 percent, 15 percent in Norway, 8 percent in Austria, 6 percent in Germany and 4 percent in Ireland.

"The Commission started with a firm commitment that its conclusions would be evidence based; an independent Commission that drew together the mainstream and co-operative housing sectors.

"The Commission’s work has followed on from the ‘Monks’ Commission into the wider co-operative movement in 2001 but has been welcomed by all political parties, government agencies and across the social housing sector”. 

Independent research for the Commission has found that co-operative and mutual housing has consistently produced a range of benefits including above average resident satisfaction ratings and sound housing management performance. Benefits extend beyond the performance indicators: people who live in democratically owned or managed housing take more responsibility, and feel a greater sense of belonging, identity and ownership.

Co-operative members who have started out with broken lives widely acknowledge how mutual housing has provided opportunities to reshape their futures by acquiring skills and moving into work. And members tend to be good citizens - tackling climate change, volunteering as school governors, transforming the wider neighbourhood, and participating in activities that foster community cohesion.

The diversity of the sector has been underlined. Housing co-operatives collectively owning and democratically managing their homes form the largest segment followed by tenant management organisations or shortlife organisations that manage or lease homes owned by other landlords.

More recently, community gateways and mutuals have made a start on injecting democracy into social housing by facilitating stock transfer from local councils. Cohousing schemes are providing community housing alternatives to the alienation of modern life, especially for older people. And community land trusts and mutual home ownership are couching aspirations for individual asset ownership within a community safety net.

The report calls for existing funding streams to be realigned to support the expansion of the co-operative and mutual housing sector. Support structures and a legal and regulatory framework that is sympathetic to democratic service-user control of housing are also recommended. Widespread promotion and publicity about available models, incorporating a clear route map for ordinary people to access the sector, is equally vital for future development. 

The Commission has made suggestions for actions by local councils to initiate a co-operative and mutual housing sector in their areas and how housing associations can offer ongoing support.

Council housing departments, arms length organisations and housing associations are also challenged to take steps towards developing more co-operative and mutual models of delivery both within their own organisations and in their spheres of influence.

But the crucial ingredient in expanding the sector is a commitment by government at all levels to introduce more democracy into housing giving ordinary people and communities the means to take control of their homes, lives and neighbourhoods and forge their own, local solutions.

The report has been welcomed by all major political parties:

Housing Minister John Healey, said: "I strongly support open, democratic housing co-operatives.  I'd like to see more follow in the footsteps of the 250 cooperatives already registered in England that have successfully led tenants to play a more active role in their local communities.

"The report is a very welcome and valuable contribution to the debate over how we may do this, and I hope to see those looking to build a new cooperative applying for a share of the £7.5billion Government is making available to build the decent, secure and affordable homes we need across the country."

Conservative Shadow Housing Minister Grant Shapps, said: "We welcome this report into co-operative and mutual housing.

"It gives a lot of food for thought into ways we might tackle the housing crisis and how we can work with and trust communities, incentivising and empowering them as part of a wider community housing policy that places the needs of local people above those of bureaucrats and planners.

"We need to build homes through a bottom up process and we agree that communities should have the option of co-operative and mutual housing solutions".

Liberal Democrat Shadow Housing Minister Sarah Teather, said: "Co-operative and mutual housing is an important form of tenure that has historically been overlooked in the UK.  I very much welcome the contribution that this report makes and hope it will reinvigorate the debate around the future of co-operatives."

Peter Marsh, Chief Executive, Tenant Services Authority, said: "From our National Conversation we established that some of the most satisfied tenants lived in co-operative housing.

"We welcome this report and look forward to exploring further the role of mutual and co-operative forms of housing in meeting the needs of prospective tenants."