Radical Routes Toolkit - User contributions [en]

Being a landlord (at the same time as being a tenant)

2026-02-05T11:31:23Z

Ruby: /* State benefits that cover rent */

You will be collective guardians of a co-op and of the property held in common ownership for yourselves and future generations. You will also collectively be a "landlord", with legal responsibilities towards your tenants. And you will all be tenants, with legal responsibilities to your "landlord".

Obviously the line between tenant and landlord responsibilities is blurred, since you will be both at once. However, it may become important to distinguish – for example, in cases where money has to be spent fixing something.

== Sharing the landlords responsibilities ==
Managing the property, finances, and people in a co-op can be a lot of work. Some co-ops set out the minimum commitments for co-op members in a "membership agreement", which outlines how much every member needs to put into helping the co-op function smoothly. This helps the co-op to make the responsibilities clear when members are applying to join. It can also be a useful reference when there are disputes between members about workload.

Not all co-ops have a membership agreement, some cover these responsibilities in their policy documents or secondary rules instead. Most co-ops refer to members' obligations in their tenancy agreements, and may explicitly state that breaking the membership agreement can be grounds for expulsion. It is important that the co-op is allowed to terminate a tenancy for any reason (as long as it is agreed by General Meeting). This is explicitly covered by the 'new' set of model rules from 2014 (RRFM-14), but if your co-op is still registered on the 'old' set of model rules from 1996 (RRFM-96) then this is not clearly defined in the rules.

== Tenancies ==
Every housed member should have a written tenancy agreement, signed by the tenant and at least one representative of the co-operative, before moving in. It is good practice for the co-op to have one prepared in advance.

'''Radical Routes has published a model tenancy agreement which you can use''', it is right at the bottom of the [https://www.radicalroutes.org.uk/publications-resources/ publications and resources page]. We do not advise writing your own agreement without advice - there are issues which might seem like a good idea for fully mutual housing co-ops, but could fall foul of the law.

Unlike tenants of housing associations or other landlords, the tenants of a fully mutual housing co-operative do not have an Assured Shorthold Tenancy. This should ''not'' mean a tenancy in a housing co-operative is more vulnerable. Assured Tenancies are designed to protect tenants from unscrupulous landlords; in a fully mutual co-operative, the tenants are their own landlord and do not need protection from themselves. You still have a contractual tenancy - a right to occupy the property.

There has been a lot of discussion about the relationship between the rules of a housing co-operative and the tenancy agreement, due to what is known as 'the Mexfield ruling'. This has caused issues for housing co-operatives in general. Currently (March 2023), the best advice is that any agreement for tenancy or otherwise must have a straightforward 4 weeks 'notice to quit' in it, which the co-operative can give to any member or resident under any circumstances. The main protection for a tenant member remains in the rules of the co-operative.

There is lots of info on the internet about the Mexfield ruling, which is worth reading if you want to understand it better, though a lot of it is more relevant to large housing co-ops with management committees and staff.

== Tenant responsibilities ==
They can probably be summed up as ‘stick to what’s in your tenancy agreement’. Some of them don’t apply to people in shared houses and some shouldn’t need saying! As with many rules, they become important when things are going wrong or people are in dispute.

These points are taken from lists on [https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/private_renting/tenants_responsibilities Shelter’s] and the [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/landlord-and-tenant-rights-and-responsibilities-in-the-private-rented-sector/landlord-and-tenant-rights-and-responsibilities-in-the-private-rented-sector gov.uk] websites.

* You must give your landlord access to the property to inspect it or carry out repairs. Your landlord has to give you at least 24 hours’ notice and visit at a reasonable time of day, unless it’s an emergency and they need immediate access.

You are also responsible for

* taking good care of the property, for example, turning off the water at the mains if you’re away in cold weather
* paying the agreed rent, even if repairs are needed or you’re in dispute with the co-op
* paying other charges as agreed with the co-op, e.g. utility bills
* repairing or paying for any damage caused by you, your family or friends. Keep receipts for this, in case there is any dispute at the end of your tenancy
* not using unsafe appliances
* reporting any repairs needed to the rest of the co-op
* disposing of your rubbish properly
* sticking to the terms in your tenancy agreement regarding smoking, pets, parking and gardening
* making sure your home is well ventilated, to help avoid condensation and dampness

Your landlord has the right to take legal action to evict you if you don’t meet your responsibilities.

== The Right to Rent ==
Since February 2016, to force landlords to support the government's racist anti-immigration agenda, it has been a legal requirement for landlords to

* check all prospective tenants' ID (eg passport or birth certificate) in the presence of the tenant
* only offer them a tenancy if they have a right-to-rent (British citizens, EU/EEA citizens, people with indefinite leave to remain) or time-limited right-to-rent (people on visas)
* re-check the right-to-rent of any time-limited tenants when their eligibility is due to expire

Co-ops found to be renting to someone they're not allowed to risk a £1000 fine the first time and £3000 each time it happens again.

The government advises landlords to keep a secure, non-editable copy of all tenants' IDs for at least a year after the tenant leaves. This is in case the landlord is accused of renting to a tenant who doesn’t have the right to rent – it can be used in the landlord’s defence.

Obviously this is a hideous infringement on everybody's civil liberties. It is horrendously racist, it interferes with co-ops' autonomy and freedom to rent to whoever they like (ie choosing the members they want) and it also brings up practical concerns about privacy and security.

Just for clarity, co-ops can have foreign members and fully mutual housing co-ops can have members who are prospective tenants. So it would be possible to have a foreign member of your co-op (who doesn’t have permission to remain in the country) living with you, as long as

* you've minuted that you intend to make them a tenant as soon as you're legally allowed to, ie they are prospective tenants
* they are not paying the co-op money which could be construed as being rental income, ie beyond food or utilities contribution.

For more detailed information, download the government's 'Code of practice on illegal immigrants and private rented accommodation'.

== Taking care of your tenants ==

The gov.uk website gives very clear and reasonably comprehensive information for both landlords and tenants. We've copied here the bits that seem most relevant. We recommend you read through the site yourself, as legislation and regulations are constantly changing. This list is correct as at November 2016 and is followed by a few extra specifics from Shelter for clarity

www.gov.uk/renting-out-a-property/landlord-responsibilities

[https://www.gov.uk/renting-out-a-property Government list] excerpts

* keep your rented properties safe and free from health hazards
* make sure all gas and electrical equipment is safely installed and maintained
* provide an [[Energy Performance Certificate]] for the property
* if your members have short-hold assured tenancies, protect your tenant’s deposit in a government-approved scheme (this isn't necessary for most small housing co-ops)
* check your tenant has the right to rent your property if it’s in England
* give your tenant a copy of the How to rent checklist when they start renting from you (you can email it to them)
* fit and regularly test smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms
* follow fire safety regulations for property in flats

[https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/private_renting/landlord_responsibilities Shelter’s list:] excerpts

* To maintain the structure and exterior of the property, hot water installations and water supply, electrical wiring, basins, baths, sinks and toilets, etc.
* To ensure the building complies with building regulations
* To ensure that all gas appliances are safely maintained by CORGI-registered engineers
* To provide furniture (if the property is furnished) that meets necessary fire regulations
* To provide and maintain fire alarms, fire extinguishers, fire blankets, fire escapes and smoke or heat alarms.

== Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) ==
You will probably be sharing a house together, unless the co-op has plenty of money and everyone wants to live separately. Any property housing more than 2 unrelated people who are not owners or leaseholders is a "House in Multiple Occupancy" or HMO", according to The Housing Act 2004. HMOs need to be licensed with your [https://www.gov.uk/find-local-council local authority].

Since the Localism Act 2011 ([https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2010-2012/0100/lbill_2010-20120100_en_20.htm#pt7-ch6-pb4-l1g184 section 185]), fully mutual housing co-ops run by general meeting have been exempt from needing HMO licensing. This exemption will apply to your housing co-op if you are using [https://www.catalystcollective.org/home/housing-co-op-registration/rrfm14/ Radical Route's Fully Mutual 2014 rules]. This exemption was won through a long campaign by [http://www.fhaction.org.uk/ Friendly Housing Action] - a lobby group set up by Radical Routes to represent small housing co-ops. There is a lot more information about this legislation on their website.

TLDR: if you are a fully mutual housing co-op managed by general meeting, then you are exempt from HMO licensing.

=== Licence requirements ===
If you are NOT a fully mutual housing co-op managed by general meeting, you will need to pay an annual licence fee.

Your co-op is almost certainly an HMO and NOT exempt from the licensing scheme if:

1.The residents are not members of a housing co-op or

2.The co-op doesn’t hold the lease or own the property or

3.The co-op’s rules are not fully mutual or

4.The co-op is managed by a committee

This means you may need to apply for a HMO license from your [https://www.gov.uk/find-local-council local authority]. Different local authorities can have different definitions of HMO, check with your relevant local authority.

Each local authority publishes building, fire, and security regulations which landlords must meet. These are likely to include: fire doors, more than one toilet for more than six residents, mains operated fire alarms, specific ventilation requirements, etc. They will be readily available from the council, usually through their website. You might wish to comply with these anyway as they represent higher health and safety standards than typical building standards, but they are only legal requirements for HMOs.

Councils are usually reasonable about allowing landlords time to meet building regulations. If you don’t get a licence, the landlord (co-op) can be taken to court and fined and the council can claw back any housing benefit payments paid during the unlicensed period. And you’ll still have to get the licence and implement the requirements.

== Collecting rent ==
Your co-op will rely on rent to pay for all its outgoings: maintenance costs, bills, insurance, loan repayments, etc. If members aren’t contributing the agreed rent, this causes financial problems for the co-op and can cause stress and resentment between co-op members. To reduce likelihood of rent issues, make sure you have a good system for bringing in rent, and for keeping track of rent that has been paid. This can be pretty straightforward.

Using a rent book or spreadsheet for each tenant, from the beginning of their tenancy, list:

* the dates (weekly, 4-weekly or monthly) their rent was due
* how much was due on each date
* how much rent was paid
* the balance outstanding

It may feel odd checking up on your mates – in our society personal money is considered a very private thing and having to ask someone else about theirs can be embarrassing. Also, no one wants to be in a position of having to nag their friends & housemates, or even tell them off.

Smaller co-ops often find that it's better to have a culture of openness about income and money from the start. This encourages honesty when people are struggling and a more open and collective approach to finding solutions. It's also a good idea to have a standard rent report to all co-op meetings, rather than only reporting when there are problems to highlight. This means that people are used to talking about being a week or two behind and the co-op will quickly notice if people start to get a month or two behind.

Having a culture of openness also means that housemates have a much better sense for each other’s financial power. Your co-op might want a more radical rent policy than ‘people who can pay more get bigger rooms’ - for example, rent being a percentage of one’s income or all members having the same disposable income after rent. If so, it can really help to have honest conversations about the practical implications of options you’re exploring.

== State benefits that cover rent ==
These days it is possible that tenants living in the same local authority area might variously be receiving Housing Benefit, Local Housing Allowance (LHA) or Universal Credit (UC). The language around this is confusing as the phrase ‘housing benefit’ is used by some agencies to mean housing benefit, or Local Housing Allowance, or the housing component of Universal Credit. However, most co-ops will not be registered providers of social housing, so their members will only be eligible for LHA or UC, not technically Housing Benefit.

Shelter.org.uk have clear and comprehensive information about all three benefits. Most single people and many couples should now be claiming Universal Credit. UC is still only partially implemented and is covering different people in different places. However, some general claims info below will still be relevant.

It is possible to apply for your benefits to be paid directly to your landlord (the co-op), but this is normally only granted in exceptional circumstances, so it is likely that all the co-op's claimant members will have their benefit paid into their own personal bank accounts.

When making a housing claim, in general, benefit claimants in co-ops should argue that they live alone (or only with partner/family members). The authorities may choose to see unemployed tenants as living together and their benefits might be cut (as with couples living together in similar circumstances). We are not aware of any instance of officials taking such action, but the possibility exists. We recommend making sure that each tenant/member has a lock on their bedroom door and if you are expecting a visit from an official, consider labelling cupboards with members names. Showing territory staked out in this fashion should counter any claim that you are living at a level of intimacy that would allow the benefits of individuals to be cut.

'''Housing benefit''' (HB) is often not paid retrospectively (although it should be, for up to 1 month) so applications need to be submitted from the first day of occupancy. Although it may take weeks (or in the worst cases, months) before the money actually comes through, they will usually cover rent from the Monday after the claim.

The Local Housing Allowance rates are used to work out a person’s maximum LHA. How much any person actually receives will be reduced in proportion to that person’s income. The LHA rates are updated regularly, and different in different local areas, you can find the most up to date LHA for your area [https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/search.aspx here, searchable by postcode].. Co-ops working on a business plan will need to know the LHA level for the area they want to live in. Co-ops are expected to keep their rents within 10% of LHA if they are applying for a RR loan.

Council Tax

MediaWiki:Sidebar

2026-02-05T11:15:13Z

Ruby:

* What are Housing Co-ops?
** Housing_Co-ops_-_What_and_Why?| Housing Co-ops, what and why
** Different_types_of_housing_co-ops| Different types of housing co-op
** Being_a_landlord_(at_the_same_time_as_being_a_tenant)| Being a tenant/landlord
** Secondary_Rules| Secondary rules

* Early Set Up of a Co-op
** Legally_registering_as_a_housing_coop| Legally registering as a co-op
** Early_finances,_setting_up_a_bank_account,_applying_for_tax_relief| Early finances, bank account, tax relief
** Working_on_your_property_-_maintenance_and_renovation| House maintenance and renovation

* People
** Forming_a_group| Early recruitment and decisions
** Living_together| Living together
** Conflict_between_members| Conflict between members
** Breaking_down_hierarchies| Breaking down hierarchies
** Disability_and_Accessibility| Disability and accessibility

* Finance
** Affording_a_house| Affording a house
** 40-year_modelling_spreadsheet| 40-year RR modelling spreadsheet
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** Buying_a_property:_The_legal_process| The buying process
** Insurance | Insurance
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Forming a group

2026-02-05T11:13:57Z

Ruby: /* Getting to know each other */

== What is important to you and your co-op? ==
A co-operative can be formed to cater for the needs and ideals of a particular group, or even a particular you!

Knowing what you want out of a housing situation helps you to get what you want. Here are some prompts to help you consider what is important to you in where and how you live.

Some of these may be very important to you, and others may not matter to you at all or can be more flexible. Starting out as a single person, you might only have one or two things that matter to you. As more people get involved you will start talking about what is key to the group as a whole. This will be an evolving discussion.

You should be clear if you do want to be specialised before you start recruiting. Once you have a large group of people who feel involved in a project it's very hard to exclude anyone for not fitting the bill unless that has been explicit from the beginning.

==Physical aspects==
Consider:
* General structure of the co-op and how the living spaces are laid out. Do you want to live in a single large shared house, or cohousing, where individuals have their own self-contained living quarters? Some co-ops have a mixture of both, though this is more work to set up.
* Location. Do you want to be in a specific city, a specific county? Central and close to amenities, or rural for cheaper land? Are there key things you or other members need to be close to (e.g. hospital, school, a train station, sports clubs or parks), how close do you need to be to those things?
* Do you need parking spaces, how many does the group need?
* Any other accessibility needs. Would you or other members struggle to manage stairs, or to walk up a steep hill or driveway? Some buildings can be retrofitted for accessibility. If self-building, consider accessibility in the build.

== Recruiting ==
You should be clear if you do want to be specialised before you start recruiting. Once you have a large group of people who feel involved in a project it's very hard to exclude anyone for not fitting the bill unless that has been explicit from the beginning.

You may already have a small group of people in mind, but you're likely to find that you need more people to fill up your future home.

Use the networks that already exist where you live to find people. Community noticeboards, social centres, and word of mouth are all ways of reaching out to people. You may want to host open days or meetings where people can drop in and find out about the project.

Depending on what brings your group together, you may already have an obvious network of people to draw on. If not, think about how you can get messages to people who are looking for what you're hoping to create.

Make clear in your adverts that this isn't like offering a room for rent in a house share. You need to find people willing to commit time and energy to setting up the co-op, running the co-op, and going through all the stress and strain of finding and buying a property. It's as much advertising a job or volunteer role as it is offering a place to live. You need someone who can see the benefits of that, [[Housing Co-ops - What and Why?#Why set up a Housing Co-op?|of which there are plenty.]]

You may find you already need to start thinking about membership procedures. Even before you have official membership, you need to think about how you will decide who can join the group.

You also need to be clear with people about what they are likely to get out of the project. Will you be able to house everybody? Will some people go on a waiting list? It's really important to make sure everyone supporting the project understands the plan.

If you want to live in a household of 6-8 people you need to actively recruit until your group reaches that size – it would be a disaster to buy the house and find you couldn't fill the rooms! You need to be very clear what you would do with more members – would you put them on a waiting list or would you change what kind of properties you are looking at? Can you afford (in money and energy) to recruit yet more people and search for a second property?

Clear and honest communication and making sure the whole group is behind the decision is key to avoid disappointment and bad feelings (see section on consensus decision-making.)

The goal is always the same, to get a stable group which sticks together and is made up of people who trust each other. There is no clear recipe for this though. Each group must find its own path.

=== Getting to know each other ===
Look out for opportunities to work and spend time together as a group. Attending work weekends at other co-ops as a group is good because you get to try out working together. You can have lots of informal discussion about what you would or wouldn't like to do the same as the co-op you are visiting and support another co-op all at the same time!

If you get the chance to live together before you buy a co-op property, take it. Even with all the meetings and activities in the world you can never quite know what it's going to be like to live with someone until you do. Before you move in together talk about how you imagine [[living together]], what are your likes and dislikes, what level of tidyness, noise, guests, etc.

== Start up Admin ==
It can be useful to start discussing your [[Secondary Rules]] before you have your home. These rules decide a lot about how you live together, and could reduce conflict in the group. This gives you a chance to find out more about each other, and practice reaching consensus. It may help you figure out if you have different ideas about what the co-op should be like.

Think about how you will take minutes and record meeting decisions. This is only required once you have [https://toolkit.radicalroutes.org.uk/wiki/Legally_registering_as_a_housing_coop legally registered as a housing coop], but it is good practise to do so from earlier, and you may find it useful to look back on these later to check decisions that were made early on.

Choose one place where meeting minutes can be kept that everyone can see. Whether that’s a shared google drive, dropbox, etc, it can be frustrating later if you realise you have taken minutes at every meeting, but have stored them all in different places making them hard to find.

Living together

2026-02-05T11:12:06Z

Ruby: Created page with "This page is currently under construction - please check back soon!"

This page is currently under construction - please check back soon!

Secondary Rules

2026-02-05T11:10:41Z

Ruby:

We recommend gathering important decisions/agreements into a single document for easy reference. In Radical Routes co-ops we tend to call these “secondary rules”

The secondary rules are a living document that can be changed (by agreement of the members!) as and when you need to. Some co-ops review theirs annually or when a new member joins.

Secondary rules can cover things like

* work commitment (how much time people should spend on co-op work)
* authorising spending
* shared meals
* pets
* meetings
* membership restrictions eg. Is your co-op open only to a specific minority group?
* vegan/non-vegan spaces
* how you use communal spaces (TV? Loud music?)
* joining procedures

Some groups like to have lots of rules, some just a few. There is no right or wrong about this so long as the intention behind them is that the group can get along together with respect and understanding.

The discussion and agreement of these rules can be really useful for new groups when they are imagining [[living together]] and very informative for new people thinking of joining a group.

Looking at other co-ops' secondary rules might be a useful place to start thinking about what you would like your own to be. Radical Routes' member co-ops have their secondary rules on the members area of the RR website so you can look there for ideas if you are part of the network.

Working on your property - maintenance and renovation

2025-12-05T11:13:32Z

Ruby: /* Regulations */

In a collectively managed housing coop, everyone is responsible for looking after the property as:

* landlords with a duty of care to the tenants and with legal responsibilities
* guardians of a common resource for future generations of co-op members/people in housing need (including making sure the co-op is financially secure).
* housemates and community members, creating a home that’s accessible for the residents and pleasant to live in
* humans trying to minimise our negative impact on the earth and its beings.
Small problems will turn into big ones if they’re not remedied in time, particularly cracks, damp and leaks. Things like cracked slates or old and flaky paintwork, can quickly become rotten roof timbers or window-frames that need replacing, at a much higher cost than it would have been to fix the original problem, which may not have seemed a big deal on its own.

It can come as a surprise that all properties, but especially old ones, need much more maintenance than you imagine and that it’s never ‘finished’. In some properties, it may be that there is always some major project going on.

== Renovating a property ==
Your building may need significant work on it before you can move in or while you are living there.

You may want to tailor it to your own requirements or the building may need renovations to make it safe and usable (like an electrical re-wire), or to make it more energy efficient (like insulation), or to make it more accessible (like wheelchair ramps).

This process can seem daunting, but is also exciting, as you are beginning to create your home! It may be important to remind yourself of this excitement during workdays shovelling pigeon dung into sacks, or whatever you have to be doing.

Make sure your business plan accounts for any time where you are unable to get rental income. It’s often possible for mortgage lenders to defer payments at the start of a loan, but you need to think about this in advance. As standard, you need to start paying off mortgages immediately, so unless you’ve got lots of money in the bank, you need to make rent.

If you’re renovating later on in the life of the co-op, you may be able to plan to rehouse people temporarily, or do work at times when rooms are empty in between tenants. Just be sure the co-op can afford it, and plan for things to overrun sometimes.

You may be able to camp out in the house while you get your work done. Depending on your outlook, this can be disheartening or unifying. We recommend treating it as a unifying experience, though this can be challenging for some. Make sure everyone’s agreed and understood the implications of any plans to do this - for example, while a building is being re-wired you may not be able to use mains power, if there is significant maintenance to the plumbing then there may not be running water, if walls or roofs are being replaced - a room may be open to the elements. The exact concerns will vary depending on the work being done.

== Regulations ==
Even if your renovations are fairly minor, Building Control approval may be required. You have to give the Building Control department of your local council plans for your building and a schedule of works for them to approve. Large scale works (involving heating, drains, sewerage or new building like an extension) may need multiple inspections. A fee will be charged, but this will be small relative to the costs of the work. When the building is completed to the satisfaction of the inspector, a '''Completion Certificate''' will be issued. This is a vital document that must be retained alongside the written planning permission for use if you ever want to sell. It is also required in order to release final funds from lenders and obtain the warranty certification.

You will also have to consider fire regulations. As a fully mutual housing co-op, you are not normally required to meet the standard HMO fire safety regulations, but you are still responsible for the safety of the people living in the house (and as someone living in the house, you probably have a vested interest in keeping safe. You can talk to your local fire brigade about what you could do to make your home as safe as possible. If you leave the house in an unsafe state people could get hurt and you could be held responsible.

You can find very useful guidance on [https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/building-regulations/ building regulations requirements], [https://www.gov.uk/building-regulations-approval building regulations approval processes] and [https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/part-b-fire-safety/ fire safety] online.

== Routine and Extraordinary maintenance ==
Well-managed properties will have a ‘cyclical’ maintenance schedule. This lays out all the jobs that need doing regularly, how frequently they’re meant to happen and when they’re next due to be done. It can include small frequent things like smoke alarm testing every month and bleeding the radiators every 6 months, right up to repainting the external woodwork every 3-5 years, re-pointing (replacing the mortar between the bricks) every 10 years, or re-roofing every 30-40 years.
You can ask other housing co-ops or even friendly housing associations for a copy of their schedule, though obviously it’s worth working out something that suits your particular building. For example, if it’s in a particularly exposed spot, the external jobs will need doing more frequently.

Most of the cyclical jobs would be considered routine maintenance, meaning that

a) the co-op members should be able to do them themselves

b) they should fall within a routine maintenance budget, which you set as a co-op and include in your co-ops cashflow projection.

Maintenance is often budgeted at 1-3% of a houses value per year - so if the house costs £200,000, estimate £2-6000 a year for maintenance. You will often not need this much, especially if you are able to do a lot of the work yourself, but it is better to have money left over than to put off important work because you don't have the funds.

Extraordinary maintenance covers the bigger jobs that need their own budget, both expected and unexpected. Usually there will be an initial lot when you first buy the building – possibly including conversions, reflooring or even re-roofing. However, it is likely that there will be more large projects once the co-op is feeling a bit more financially secure, such as installing solar panels, or improving insulation.
== Hiring vs DIYing ==
Attitudes to doing work yourselves will vary with the membership, while the resources available to pay someone else will increase as you pay off your loans.

Doing work yourselves can be exciting! It will usually be cheaper, involvement in the process can bring a greater sense of collective ownership in the building, and it can generate team spirit. Being part of a housing co-op is an excellent way to learn general maintenance and building skills. As well as having a go at things yourselves, consider asking more skilled people to come and work with members on more difficult tasks.

Some work you will not be able to do yourselves and may have to employ builders, plumbers, electricians, etc. Professionals will dramatically reduce the time that your property is a building site, and hopefully you will know that it is being done properly.

Deciding which jobs to contract out and which to do yourselves is not always easy. As a general guide, employ builders for: very large jobs (like extensions); anything structural or otherwise requiring Building Control approval (like removing a wall); technical trades (like electrics); large jobs that will delay other jobs until done (like laying a floor slab); or jobs that you want to be sure are done properly (like roofing). When deciding whether to pay a professional, it’s worth thinking about the consequences of doing a bad job – living with a terrible plastering job is less problematic than living with leaking plumbing or a badly installed wood-stove.

If you are lucky enough to have some tradespeople involved in your co-op, you will be able to tackle a wider range of jobs "in-house", but do make sure their contributions are properly recognised so nobody is taken advantage of.

Very often, the founding group will have no choice but to get stuck in quickly, learning as they go along, often by trial and error. As the co-op gets older it should build up institutional knowledge (and a good store of tools!). Over time, members get more and more useful information before starting on a job and are able to learn skills from each other in a supportive environment.

''"Some jobs that we’ve done ourselves (often enthusiastically) have cost us more in the long run as it turned out we didn’t know what we were doing. On the other hand, we’ve also paid to have jobs done, which we only later discovered weren’t good quality because we didn’t think we needed to know what they were doing!" - Cornerstone housing co-op, 2017''

=== Employing builders and other tradespeople ===
The best way to find a good builder is by reputation, so ask around and look for recommendations. It is common practice to get quotes from a number of builders before contracting one, and a good tradesman should be happy to provide a detailed written estimate. When you have chosen your builder, make sure you have everything agreed in writing before anything starts. During the actual work, it's good practice to pop in every few days or so to ask how things are going, check that you are satisfied with the quality of work so far and make sure the builder can easily contact you at short notice if needed.

'''Make sure you understand the actual problem''': fixing a problem without knowing what’s caused it can lead to more problems. This is definitely the case with issues around damp. Keep contact details for the vendor (the person/agent you bought the building from), so you can talk to past residents about how long a problem might have been going on. You could also pay someone just to investigate and do a report, if it wasn’t already picked up in the survey.

'''Make sure you understand what needs to happen''': Get some DIY books and get internet searching. Read up on the important elements of the job in question. If eco considerations are important to you, you’ll need to do even more research. Join www.greenbuildingforum.co.uk and ask others for their thoughts on your planned solution and materials

'''Create a detailed written specification to give to builders coming to quote'''. You could include that people in your co-op want to help with the building, both to get experience and to make the job cheaper.

'''Decide how the job will be organised.''' You may well end up with one person leading on the job, doing most of the communication with the tradespeople. Decide within the co-op about information flow – what happens if someone else is in when the tradespeople come round to quote? What happens if new information comes in? Is one person or a small team entirely responsible for the project or does the co-op want to be consulted/involved/kept informed all the way through? Depending on the size of the job, you may change your mind about these questions a few steps in. Try not to have the work of organising maintenance fall to the same people every time. Whatever you decide, make sure the tradespeople also understand who is ultimately responsible and how long it might take to make decisions. Sometimes the cause of a bad job can be traced back to chaotic communication.

'''Ask around for recommendations and get two or three estimates'''. Quotes may vary a lot, so don’t be alarmed if you get wildly different estimates from different builders. You can ask for a breakdown of the quote or about how they plan to do the work to help gain understanding. If you are using eco-builders, they may be able to offer a variety of solutions at different prices. Good tradespeople are often busy with lots of work, so don't be surprised if they are slow to respond, be prepared to do regular nagging. If your co-op has a preferred timescale, you may need to try a lot of builders in order to get the quotes in time.

'''Get a written estimate or quote and an agreed timetable of works.''' The timetable will almost certainly change, but it’s better to have a definite starting point. A quote is a set price which you can expect to be stuck to whereas an estimate is more flexible and will vary depending on how many hours the job actually takes. For this reason a quote (or 'price') will often seem higher than an estimate as the tradesperson will factor in all the things that might make the job take longer and err on the side of caution. Agreeing an hourly rate leaves them secure that they will get paid for all hours worked so is less of a gamble for them but more of a gamble for you. This unpredictability of how long a job will take is also why tradespeople find it very hard to give exact dates for when they can come to look at jobs or start work.

'''Check details''' like the length of guarantee, whether they want to be paid for materials in advance and whether they’ll want paying on a weekly basis for longer projects. Most builders will buy their materials in cash, so it’s reasonable for you to pay them up front for that. If a builder is VAT registered it will probably cost the co-op more.

'''Have at least a daily check-in with the builders''' once the job is underway. Get a progress report, ask about any problems and check that they’re happy with access, space to work and enough cups of tea. If you’re not comfortable ‘supervising’, then check their work after they’ve gone home for the day. It might be worth a couple of you working out if you’re happy or exactly what you’re not happy with, so that you can be clear with them the next day.

Basically, be willing to put a lot more effort than you thought you’d have to in order to pay someone else to do a job. Any job over £1000 requires a project manager.

=== Doing work yourself ===

* Plan out in advance what you will need
* Make sure you have all the tools and materials for the job, including protective equipment (goggles, gloves, etc as needed)
* Decide where/how the tools and materials will be stored and organised
* Have someone responsible for co-ordinating the work, ideally someone with some skills and experience of similar jobs
* Make sure everyone is involved who wants to be
* Give people opportunities to develop skills in tasks they haven't done before
* Rotate tasks so everyone gets to try the more fun and interesting stuff
* Bear in mind inexperienced DIY-ers may need supervision from a more experienced teammate, especially with anything dangerous like powertools, and some tasks may be less appropriate for people without experience
* Make sure people can have music, hot drinks and snacks to keep morale up
* Consider having communal meals on workdays. Having someone(s) responsible for cooking for the team can make a big difference

==== Work weekends ====
Many co-ops arrange work weekends not just for themselves, but to attract help from friends and supporters. This can generate a sense of community and collective achievement, as well as getting a lot more work done at one go. It’s also an opportunity for skill-sharing on a larger scale. This is particularly useful for those jobs where fewer tradespeople have the required skills, like lime-washing or installing wood-powered central heating. Some co-ops have also run women-only work weekends, to encourage women to be more confident at (and be recognised as capable of) tasks considered to traditionally be done by men.
This short list of things to think about should be used to aid an enthusiastic person or group of people in setting up a work weekend with volunteers, as well as all the tips in the above section
* '''Enthusiasm''' – this is probably the most important thing: if you are not interested in the task it will be very difficult to motivate others to work at it
* '''Matching volunteers to roles''' – Know who will be helping and know the work so you can match the right skills and abilities to the right jobs. Most people will know what they are capable of but watch out for people with too much enthusiasm and not enough skill! Also, look for people who aren’t confident in themselves and give them the opportunity to try something challenging.
* '''Health and Safety''' – make sure if people are using new tools that there is someone to help them learn properly. Don’t presume people will have the same knowledge as you, don’t presume anything.
* '''Food and Housekeeping''' – if you have a lot of volunteers it is important to think about the food preparation, looking after communal areas and guiding the volunteers. Making food for lots of people takes good planning, as does ensuring everyone has enough space to put their muddy boots and dry their wet coats. Remember they might eat more than you would expect, it is better to have copious leftovers than hungry volunteers. Ask volunteers in advance about any dietary requirements.
* '''Communication''' – Planning a work weekend should involve everyone, even if some people won’t be involved on the day, it is important for them to know what is going on, what to expect and when to expect it.
* '''Logistics''' – if lots of people are coming to work, remember to think about their travel arrangements (maybe set up a liftshare group), parking spaces, extra chairs, extra sleeping spaces. Remember to let everyone know about these plans so that there are no double booking issues to sort out on the day. Check the weather and if it looks bad, try and make sure there are indoor tasks for people who want them.
* '''Memories''' – work weekends are usually happy times when lots of helpful people are doing something good, so it is a good idea to take photographs, have a visitor book open and consider encouraging non-volunteering visitors and potential members to visit.

Audit Requirements

2025-12-05T11:04:20Z

Ruby:

An audit is a check that you have kept proper accounts, performed by an accountant who has been approved as an auditor by the government. In recent years the requirements have been relaxed, and it means that many small housing co-ops will '''not''' now need an external audit. In practice, many still have their accounts prepared by an accountant – it is often useful – but this will be up to the members to decide, and you may not need to use an accountant who has been approved as a registered auditor.

At the end of the financial year you must complete, and send to the registrar, an annual return. At the time of writing this is the AR30, which you can find on the FCA website and can be completed online or on paper. If you can understand and fill this in without finding it too complicated, then you might not need to employ an accountant, or may be able to find a friendly person with bookkeeping knowledge to help you with accounts and annual returns.

The figures here change sometimes. We last checked August 2022. You can find this information on [https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/registered-societies-introduction/changes-audit-requirements-registered-societies the FCA website]

==Avoiding audit requirements==
A vote must be taken every year by the members to decide whether or not to have a full audit. This resolution must be passed with a larger majority than your usual resolutions. To avoid an audit:

*less than 20% of the total votes cast can be against the resolution
*and
*less than 10% of the members of the society entitled to vote cast their votes can be against the resolution

For example, in a small co-op of less than 10 people, any one vote against can force the co-op to have an audit. This is fair enough, since an external audit is a good way of guarding against possible fraud, and can be useful in terms of assessing how the co-op is doing financially. If you're governing by consensus anyway, this should be achievable, it just means the default is to have an audit, and it needs full consensus to stop it.

Accounts and audits are useful tools which should be valuable for the co-op’s members/tenants.

Whether you need an audit, and what type of audit you need depends on your turnover and your total assets. The turnover is all the income you get in the year, before expenses are taken out. Your assets are how much you own, including value of property, investments, money owed to you and cash in the bank.

==Audit requirements you can and can't avoid==
Societies:

*with turnover less than £5000, fewer than 500 members, and assets less than £5000 of value can appoint a lay auditor instead of a qualified auditor, as long as their rules permit
*with turnover less than £90,000 do not need to be audited; their accounts and annual return can be signed by the secretary and committee members. They still have to agree not to have a full audit, as discussed above.
*their accounts and annual return can be signed by the secretary and committee members. They still have to agree not to have a full audit, as discussed above.
* with turnover between £90,000 and £350,000 can agree as described above to avoid needing a full audit. They will still need a report completed by a registed auditor, but this is not as comprehensive as a full audit and so will cost less.
The following societies will need a full professional audit each year:
*with turnover over £5.6million, or assets more than 2.8million, will need a full audit whatever the co-op agrees
*registered Housing Associations in England, Wales and Scotland (currently "registered providers of social housing")
*a subsidiary of another society, or a society that has subsidiaries
*a society that holds a deposit or has done so at any time since the end of the preceding year of account (unless the deposit was withdrawable share capital)
The FCA can force any co-op to have an audit.

==Lay audits==
If you are a small co-op, or if you haven’t acquired property yet, you may be exempt from the auditing requirements, and simply need a lay audit (provided your rules allow it). This means that two persons who are not qualified auditors and not members or officers of the society, or partners, employees or employers of officers can inspect the accounts and declare them to be sound and sign them.

This applies to societies with all of the following:

*receipts and payments of £5,000 or less
* no more than 500 members
*assets less than £5,000 of value

This can occur quite often. The co-op might be set up and plans for buying etc, then either fall through or take longer than expected. If your co-op has been inactive for a year, then you will probably satisfy the above conditions.

Lay auditors have to be completely separate from the co-op (no members, or relations of members), and you need at least two of them. Basically, prepare a summary of your accounts for the year and then the lay auditors should have a look at them and if necessary check things with your records for the year.

When they are satisfied that the summary is true, they should sign an ‘auditors report’ such as:

“We have audited the accounts of _____ Housing Co-op Ltd, and confirm that the above is a fair and true statement of income and expenditure for the period _____ , and of its financial standing at the end of that period, and is in compliance with the requirements of the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965 and the Friendly and Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1968.”

This should then also be signed by the co-op secretary and two members and sent in with your Annual Return.

Applying for a RR loan

2025-11-24T16:12:55Z

Ruby:

When a new co-op puts in an application for a loan from Radical Routes....

=Application Process=

==Business Plan==

=Timeline=

Applying for a RR loan

2025-11-24T16:10:16Z

Ruby: Created page with "When a new co-op puts in an application for a loan from Radical Routes.... We say yes!"

When a new co-op puts in an application for a loan from Radical Routes....

We say yes!

40-year modelling spreadsheet

2025-11-24T16:09:16Z

Ruby: /* Sheet 1) - Information and Ongoing income & expenditure */

The 40-year modelling spreadsheet is also called the '''financial modelling spreadsheet''', the '''Radical Routes spreadsheet''', or the '''40-year spreadsheet'''. This may also refer to the '''business plan''' or simply, '''the plan''' - although sometimes the business plan also includes a narrative to go alongside the spreadsheet.

This spreadsheet gets updated regularly, sometimes multiple times a year, by [https://www.catalystcollective.org/ Catalyst Collective]. At the time of writing, in May 2025, the most up to date version is version 3.3.5. The latest version of the spreadsheet gets updated and is available in the [https://files.radicalroutes.org.uk/s/mtzWPw7DoidqoNf RRModel Spreadsheet] online file storage.

The spreadsheet works best when downloaded to a device, and opened using [https://www.libreoffice.org/download/download-libreoffice/ Libreoffice] - in the .ods file format. '''Libreoffice''' is a free, open source office suite similar to Microsoft Office. Once Libreoffice is downloaded, the spreadsheet software we recommend using, and that the spreadsheet was designed to be used on, is called LibreOffice Calc. It is possible to use Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel however we have noticed glitches in the calculations and protected cells, therefore advise against it.
=Information required to enable filling in the spreadsheet=
It can be quite overwhelming to look at this spreadsheet. Some people with more spreadsheet experience have taught themselves how to use it. We recommend collecting all of the figures needed before trying to fill it in. Radical Routes Finance Group are happy to be contacted for advice or support to fill this in.

If you are trying to fill in the spreadsheet, it will help to have the following information to hand. This guidance has come about from filling in the spreadsheet for an already housed coop. Much of it will also be applicable to an unhoused coop, and in some places estimate figures will need to be used.
# '''Cash in the bank''' - This is total money in the co-op's name, in all co-op bank accounts, including savings.
# '''Fixed assets''' - Find this information on the most recent balance sheet, representing the value of all property owned by the coop. This is zero if your co-op does not own any property.
# '''Rental income''' - Be careful to input this correctly, either per week or per month
# '''The most recent mortgage statement''' - The information needed from this document is 1) capital balance, 2) interest rate, and 3) monthly payment.
# '''Radical Routes loan statement''' - The header of this document should say '''Co-operative & Community Finance''' as well as Radical Routes because CCF administer RR loans. The information needed from this document is 1) capital balance, 2) interest rate, and 3) monthly payment'' [[file:a Radical Routes loan statement.png]] 
# '''Outstanding loanstock details''' - This should include 1) starting dates, 2) length in years, 3) interest rate, 4) amount, 5) simple/compound interest. The name of the lender should only include the initials, so for example loanstock from Zara Chowdhary should appear as 'ZC'. This is so that when the spreadsheet is shared externally, the loanstock investors are not identifiable. 
# '''Annual council tax'''
# '''Annual [[Insurance|insurance]] cost'''
# '''Annual maintenance spend''' - This could be the average over 3 years, or an annual maintenance budget, or an estimate with a minimum of £250 per bedroom per year.
# '''Local Housing Allowance rate''' - LHA is calculated by inputting the postcode of the property on the [https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/ government LHA calulator]. The figure we generally use is the shared accommodation rate - correlating to one person paying 1 rent per bedroom. However, other rates may be applicable if, for example, a member is entitled to the 1 bedroom rate if they are receiving disability benefits, more bedrooms if they have dependents etc.
# '''Bank charges''' - Many RR coops bank with Coop bank (free), or Unity Trust Bank (£6 per month = £72 per year).
# '''RR member payments''' Check your bank statement for how much you pay RR (quarterly) if you are a member of RR. This will correspond to a drop-down menu on the spreadsheet.
# '''Any other regular income''' - For example - regular donations.
# '''Any other regular expenses''' - For example, travel, website hosting costs, internet or a building service charges. This should not include electric, gas or water bills as RR recommends these costs are dealt with as separate from the co-op's expenses, and housing co-ops charge separately for bills. The spreadsheet may or may not include internet expenses, depending on whether this is paid for by the coop.

=How to input data into the spreadsheet=
Only '''the purple cells''' are editable. It is recommended to keep the spreadsheet in protected mode so as not to change any of the formulae.
==Broken down by sheet==
===Sheet 1) - Information and Ongoing income & expenditure===
This sheet goes by the shorthand name '''Info and Ongoing Inc&Exp'''

Income to input: '''rental income''' and '''other income'''.

Expenses to input: '''void percentage'''; '''house [[insurance | insurance]]'''; '''maintenance'''; '''council tax'''; '''bank charges'''; '''accountant costs'''; '''other expenses.'''

For co-ops [[applying for a RR loan]], rental income will need to be below [https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/ LHA]. Co-ops should be aware of the risk to losing their exemption for corporation tax if they are receiving any income that is not rent from members.

For insurance, maintenance, and council tax - you can input these as either actual costs or estimated. This won't have any impact on the model and is more to give some background to the figures.

===Sheet 2) - Income and expenses needed at the start===
One reason you might be filling in this spreadsheet is, for instance, you are modelling for an upfront cost to the coop. You can use the sheet (shorthand - '''Day1 Inc&Exp''') to represent initial costs that are not repeated year on year.

Data to input - '''Cash in the bank; day 1 expenditures (such as property purchase cost, mortgage fees, RR loan fees, Day 1 maintenance work, surveys''' etc. Scrolling down to the bottom of this page you should also input the '''value of any existing properties.''' The mortgage fees can be either inputted manually or automatically derived from the new mortgage information.

If you are not taking out any loans, ensure you remove any loan fees on this sheet.

===Sheet 3) - Existing Loans===
This page calculates how much '''already existing loans''' money the coop owes. This could be a mortgage, a "mortgage-type" loans (e.g. RR loans that are repaid on a monthly basis), or loanstock (i.e. loans being reimbursed at once at the end of their maturity period).

The capital balance reading date is the last date covered on the most recent loan statement.

The remaining capital balance is the amount of the loan that the co-op is due to repay - this could be in the tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds.

===Sheet 4) - New Loans===
This page models for any new mortgage-type loans, future mortgage-type loans, new loanstock, and future loanstock. The difference between '''new''' and '''future''' is that new starts from the 1st year the spreadsheet is set in, whereas future can be set up to start at any point in the next 40 years.

There are three types of interest rate for mortgage-type loans: '''fixed''', '''variable''' and '''RR rate'''. The RRrate stands for RR loan that are at the lowest interest rate. Indeed this lower interest rate is based on the average interest rate requested by RR investors which might fluctuate. For RR loan at 6% however this should be set as a fixed rate.

====Automatic Loanstock Refinancing====

There is also a function in the 'Future Loanstock' section to turn on '''automatic refinancing'''. This is where the spreadsheet automatically adds in extra loanstock when it is needed. You can turn this on/off by selecting yes/no in the dropdown. To see the where the automatic loanstock has been added in, go to the '''Yearly Breakdown''' page - Money In - Loanstock In, and scroll across to see any non-zero figures. Loanstock In also appears as green vertical bars on the graph at the bottom of the Yearly Breakdown page.

===Sheet 5) - Year 1 Breakdown===
This page shows you how viable the plan is in Year 1, broken down by months 1-12. Each column represents 1 month, and you need to scroll sideways, to the right, to see all 12 months.

If you need to input specific income or expenses in Year 1 in a specific month, you can input this here.

For example -
You are going to start doing renovations on a bedroom in month 3, and then the rent from that bedroom only becomes available in the 6th month after the spreadsheet begins. In this case you would:

1) input the extra maintenance cost in 'Year 1 breakdown', under the 'Money Out' section, in the 3rd month, in a purple cell - either in Cell H42 (maintenance), or Cell H50 (other) is fine.
2) input the full rents in the 'Info and Ongoing Inc&Exp' sheet, and then in the 'Year 1 Breakdown' sheet, reduce 1 rent level for the first 5 months. This would represent that the first 5 months has 1 less rent coming in.

===Sheet 6) - Yearly Breakdown===
This page shows you how viable the plan is throughout the 40 years, broken down by years 1-40. Each column represents 1 year, and you need to scroll sideways, to see all 40 years.

Check that the rate of inflation is set to 3%, and the rent increase rate is set to at least 2%.

There is a 3% increase in the ‘Mortgage Interest rate change’ sheet over the first 10 years. This is how we '''stress test''' for unforeseen interest rate hikes. The actual interest rate is inputted per loan in the New Loans or Existing Loans sheet. The lender's interest rate (often Ecology Building Society, or Triodos) includes the Bank of England 'base rate' that fluctuates.

=Testing the viability of the spreadsheet=

Once '''all sheets''' have been filled in, there are a number of things to check that the business plan is viable/sustainable, that income covers all expenditure, and that the bank balance remains positive.

On the '''Info and Ongoing Inc&Exp''' sheet, scroll to the bottom of the page, and check that the '''ongoing surplus''' is positive and ideally above £1200 per year.

On the '''Year 1 Breakdown''' sheet, scroll to the bottom of the page, and check that the '''balance''' is positive. Scroll to the right and check all 12 month bank balances are positive.

The '''Yearly Breakdown''' page is the main page to pay attention to to see that the business plan is viable. The bank balance needs to be positive at all times. On version 3.3.5 of the spreadsheet, the Bank Balance appears on Row 93, but in other versions it may appear higher or lower than this.

At the bottom of the '''Yearly Breakdown''' page, there is a graph that represents the bank balance over 40 years. This should have an upward trend, which means that the co-op is accumulating money over time and therefore can cover any unexpected costs.