Brighton student housing co-op to offer students affordable alternative

A student housing co-op in Brighton has been awarded £65,000 to develop affordable student accommodation in the town.

SEASALT Housing Co-operative Ltd will work with Brighton & Hove Community Land Trust (BHCLT) to develop the project, which will initially house 18 students and young people paying affordable rents.

All co-operative members are tenants and all tenants are members of the co-operative. Residents will be able to stay for one additional year after graduation to ensure skills and knowledge are transferred across generations of students, and to support their transitions to post-university life.

Rents have risen sharply across the UK for students in recent years, and it’s estimated that between 2015 and 2017 over 500 students in Brighton ended up sofa-surfing or being put up in hotels until they could find affordable accommodation.

There are already successful student housing co-operatives in Edinburgh, Sheffield and Birmingham. On average, 10% of the European population live in housing co-operatives.

£40,000 will come from Homes England Community Housing Fund with a further £15,000 coming through the Reach Fund, a grant programme that helps charities and social enterprises raise investment.

The University of Sussex has also pledged £10,000 to back the SEASALT project.

One of SEASALT’s student members said: ‘I joined SEASALT because I have been a supporter of co-operative organisations for a long time, and after experiencing the stress of finding affordable housing in Brighton I started searching for alternatives.

‘A high-quality, stable and affordable living environment is vital for student wellbeing. I am hoping to see student housing co-operatives thrive and become the norm across Brighton. With SEASALT we are starting small but aiming big!

‘It bothers me that renting to students is seen as a way of making a profit off of young people who tend to be less informed and less likely to invest in the long-term improvement of their homes.

‘This funding is the first step to us being able to regain control over our housing conditions in a way that cares for the wellbeing of students and the environment. Housing that’s not for profit is vital in order to help alleviate the artificial inflation of student housing and the property market in Brighton more widely.’

The first students are planned to move in at the start of the academic year in September 2019.