Birmingham Student Housing Co-operative is a
student housing cooperative
A student housing cooperative, also known as co-operative housing, is a housing cooperative for student members. Members live in alternative cooperative housing that they personally own and maintain. These houses are designed to lower housing cos ...
in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, providing affordable self managed housing for the co-operative's nine student members. The co-operative was the first operational student housing co-operative in the UK when it opened in June 2014.
The co-operative manages a property on Pershore Road in
Selly Oak
Selly Oak is an industrial and residential area in south-west Birmingham, England. The area gives its name to Selly Oak ward and includes the neighbourhoods of: Bournbrook, Selly Park, and Ten Acres. The adjoining wards of Edgbaston and Harborn ...
,
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
. The property is leased from
The Phone Co-op
The Phone Co-op was an independant consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom until 2018, when facing serious financial difficulties, it transfered itself into a sister society, where it remains today. It provides landline, mobile telephone a ...
who acquired the property on behalf of the Housing Co-operative through its 'Co-operative and Social Economy Development Fund'. The co-operative is a member of
Students for Cooperation, a federation of student co-operatives across the UK, alongside the UK's two other operating student housing co-operatives,
Edinburgh Student Housing Co-operative and
Sheffield Student Housing Co-operative.
Progress
Since its opening in June 2014, Birmingham Student Housing Co-operative has charged students a relatively low price for accommodation whilst making significant improvements to the property. Whilst many of these improvements have been made by the tenants or friends of the tenants living within it or hired professionals using their own co-op's budget, other improvements have only been possible so quickly with financial contributions for home improvements from
The Phone Co-op
The Phone Co-op was an independant consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom until 2018, when facing serious financial difficulties, it transfered itself into a sister society, where it remains today. It provides landline, mobile telephone a ...
.
As of December 2016, improvements include: converting part of the huge lounge into a reasonably sized eighth bedroom, converting an unused garage into a large ninth bedroom, erecting a greenhouse, erecting a shed, installing a curtain rail and curtains in the lounge, installing shelving in the lounge-kitchen-bedrooms, installing a large raised bed in the garden and re-building a garden wall.
Tenancy applications
Birmingham Student Housing Co-operative opens applications at least twice per year to find new students that wish to live in the co-op. The application process consists of filling out an application form and a visit to the co-op by the applicant.
Selection of new tenants is a transparent and democratic process, involving all of the current tenants living in the co-op.
References
{{Co-operatives
Student housing cooperatives
Companies based in Birmingham, West Midlands