New housing co-op launched for students

Student Co-op Homes has launched which they say will give students access to cheaper student housing across the UK.

They hope to own the property portfolio of all student housing co-ops and lease them to back to local student groups. They say this will aid stability and sustainability and overcome the need for short-term tenancies for students.

In Edinburgh, the rent is 30% cheaper for members of Edinburgh Student Housing Co-operative, who pay £75/week compared to average student rents of £112/week elsewhere in the city. Similarly, the Birmingham Student Housing Co-operative is 10% cheaper than the average equivalent where they pay £64/week (excluding bills) compared to the average for the Selly Oak area which, according to the University of Birmingham, is £71.70/week (also excluding bills).

Student Co-op Homes aims to increase the national capacity of student housing co-ops from 150 to 10,000 beds within the next five years – equating to one-third of the current market share of iQ, the largest private student housing provider in the UK

Student Co-op Homes is already working with groups in Nottingham, Norwich, Leeds and Glasgow and is seeking interest from students and groups in other towns and cities across the UK.

Mike Shaw, a founding member of Edinburgh Student Housing Co-operative said: ‘There is no landlord – we are the landlords. We are in charge. We are democratically run by our members. We provide better quality housing and we are able to bring costs right down to offer cheaper housing.’

Shaw adds: ‘Not only is it cheaper but the money you’re paying is going towards the upkeep of the house which leads to a much higher quality of accommodation.’

Steve Murrells, CEO at The Co-op, said: ‘Housing is exactly the kind of broken market where a co-operative intervention could be a game changer and make our movement relevant to a new generation.

This move has also been welcomed by Scott Jennings, board member of Students for Co-operation who have worked in partnership with Co-operatives UK to establish Student Co-op Homes.

He said: ‘The current student housing market is broken. For too long the private rental sector has got away with steadily increasing rents for poorer quality student housing.

‘Everyone we speak to is so inspired by the idea of student housing co-ops but access is so limited. Until now we’ve not had enough investment in this area so that students can access this sort of living whilst at university.

‘The establishment of Student Co-op Homes is essential to the growth of this sector. We have one point of investment, we have a plan. We can buy in batches around the country and we can grow. We can actually take on the landlords and the problem system that we are living under.’