What support is available for community-led housing groups?

We signpost useful resources for CLH groups that will assist whether you are at the beginning of your journey or a well-established community.

Setting up a new community-led housing group can be a challenging process with lots of thorny issues to resolve. What legal structure corresponds best to the aims of the group? What is a community land trust? How will the group fund the purchase of land and how will that purchase be structured? Should you put a members’ agreement in place? What kind of bank account should we open?

At Wrigleys we have been advising community-led housing projects for over thirty years and understand and value these unique projects. Some of our team are also involved in their own community-led projects and have first-hand experience of practical issues that may arise. We advise on all aspects of a community-led housing project’s development, from setting up a legal entity to drafting leases for tenants and everything in between. If you are at the beginning of your CLH journey, please contact us for a copy of our ‘Guide to Legal Structures for Community-Led Housing’, which outlines the various options which are available.

There is also a thriving community-led housing support sector and the list below signposts readers to potentially useful resources and networks. Whether setting up a new community-led housing group, or looking for support for an existing group, the following organisations are well worth exploring.  One of the best starting points will be your local CLH hub, which will have a bank of advisers and other resources to help you on your way.

Community Led Homes – find your local Community Led Homes hub to access information on potential funding opportunities.

Community Led Homes – key considerations for your project can be found in the Community Led Housing Toolkit.

UK Cohousing – umbrella body for the sector:

National Community Land Trust Network – umbrella body and resource hub for community land trusts:

The Confederation of Co-operative Housing – advice and resources for co-operative and community-led housing organisations:

Locality - support for all types of community organisations:

Lilac Co-Housing Community – a prominent example of a Mutual Home Ownership Society (MHOS) that provides useful resources for groups interested in this structure:

Co-ops UK model governing documents – Co-ops UK is the central membership organisation and umbrella body for co-operatives and can provide model rules and sponsor applications.

In addition to the above, if your group is looking for funding, the following lenders specialise in supporting charities and community-based organisations:

• Ecology Building Society – specialist lending for sustainable, community-led and social purpose projects.
• Triodos Bank UK – lending and banking services focused on social and environmental impact.
• Charity Bank – loans designed to support charities, social enterprises and community organisations.

We also recommend researching existing communities to find out more about how community-led housing can work in practice. Examples of groups with useful websites include Lancaster Cohousing, Cannock Mill Cohousing, On The Brink Cohousing and Marmalade Lane.

Finally, we can provide bespoke governing documents for most types of CLH structure. We view our relationship with CLH groups as mutually beneficial; we aim to learn from each other whilst further developing the legal framework for this way of living and owning property, and growing its presence across the UK.

If we can assist with the development of your CLH group please don’t hesitate to contact us.