Join us
Why join
Black Country Cohousing?
The future of housing should be collaborative, sustainable, and people-powered. We want to build a vibrant neighbourhood where residents actively shape their environment, share skills, reduce their environmental impact, and create a place that truly feels like home.
Sustainability and Local Impact
Environmentally friendly: Many co-ops focus on green living — like shared gardens, recycling schemes, or energy-saving measures.
Supporting the local area: Co-ops tend to reinvest in their community and focus on strengthening local ties rather than making profits. As a fully mutual society, we cannot pay out any profits to members and have no shareholders, instead all profit has to be reinvested in the co-op or given to another similar organisation who share our aims.
Better Housing Maintenance and Quality
Involvement in upkeep: Members decide what repairs and improvements are most important, often leading to better-maintained homes.
Responsibility and speed: Since residents manage the co-op, repairs can be sorted out faster and more transparently than in larger housing systems.
Security of Tenure
Long-term housing: Members can usually stay as long as they wish, as long as they follow the co-op’s rules and meet their responsibilities (like paying rent and helping out).
Protection from eviction: Evictions are rare and usually only happen with the agreement of the group, not just one person deciding to kick someone out.
Community and Mutual Support
Strong social bonds: Co-ops often have a friendly, close community. Members share responsibilities, help one another, and organise optional social activities.
Shared responsibility: Problems such as repairs or disagreements are dealt with collectively, not imposed by a landlord.
Inclusive and fair: Co-ops focus on fairness, diversity, and helping each other, creating more equal communities.
Fair & stable rents
Not-for-profit structure: The co-op isn’t set up to make money for shareholders or landlords. Any extra money is used to improve the homes or support the community.
Rent stability: Members agree on rents that cover costs, not to make profits. This usually results in lower and more predictable rent increases compared to private renting.
Clear about costs: Because members are involved in managing the finances, everyone can see how the money is spent
Democratic Control and Empowerment
Member ownership: In a fully mutual co-op, all residents are members, and only members can rent homes from the co-op. This means residents share ownership and help run their homes.
Democratic decision-making: Each member has one vote, no matter how long they’ve lived there or how much they earn. Important decisions about rent, repairs, and community rules are made together.
Empowerment: Members learn new skills and gain confidence by managing budgets, organising repairs, or taking part in meetings.
No landlord-tenant hierarchy
Members act as both tenants and owners, creating a fairer relationship and reducing the chance of exploitation or unfair control.
How do i join Black Country Cohousing?
Our joining process is a simple 4 steps
Check you meet the criteria
You must:
Have no suitable alternative housing than your current residence and need to move (due to size, accessibility, location, or affordability).
Not own additional usable housing (applicants with rental portfolios/holiday homes usually not accepted; those with a single unusable/unsellable property may be).
Be willing to undergo background and a basic DBS check.
Not be currently bankrupt, have the right to rent and the right to be a UK company director.
Be 18 or over and intend to stay long-term (after a six-month probation). We welcome families to apply but only those 18+ can become members in their own right.
2. Apply
Complete the membership form
If this form is inaccessible to you, please contact us for support.
3. Meet us & complete checks
We arrange a meeting (online or in person), carry out checks, and take two references.
This may take up to six weeks.
Note: Becoming a member does not guarantee a home if we are unsuccessful; we currently have no site.
4. Finalise membership
If accepted:
Pay a £1 non-refundable share.
Pay £2 quarterly subs (or more if you wish).
- We ask all members to attend at least 2 out of 4 quarterly (currently virtual) meetings, and to send apologies if unable to attend.