MUTUAL and co-operative housing could turn around London's shortage of affordable housing, according to a research document published by the Greater London Authority.
The GLA report looks at the potential of mutual housing and community land trusts (CLT) for people on low and medium incomes.
House prices in the capital have risen by 149 per cent from 1995 to 2002, compared to 87 per cent across the rest of the country.
Since 1995 London's growing economy and population has created an intense pressure on housing provision, with an increased demand for housing that has not been matched by an adequate increase in supply.
The London Plan aims to build 23,000 new home annually, with 50 per cent being affordable housing. Seventy per cent of affordable housing should be social housing according to the GLA with rents no greater than limits set by the Office of the Deputy Prime Ministers for housing association and co-operative tenants.
A CLT-Mutual Home Ownership model is a shared-ownership co-operative model run by a non-profit Industrial & Provident Society and democratically controlled by its members.
Gifted or discounted land is passed to the CLT that allows it to charge a lower monthly mortgage rate based on 30-35 per cent of a member's income.
The idea has had support from Parliament, local authorities and community developers. A £ 70,000 grant has also been given from Co-operative Action towards the cost of developing a legal and financial model.
Daniel Crowe, author of the report, said: "This new mutual model is a potential solution to the perceived problems caused by the top-down paternalistic interventions of the past.
"Through its emphasis on community control and ownership of the resources central to neighbourhood regeneration, and taking into account the role housing co-operatives can play in building community capacity the model delivers on the government's objective to tackle social exclusion and create sustainable, balanced communities, as well as its new localism agenda."
Mutual solution for London housing crisis
MUTUAL and co-operative housing could turn around London's shortage of affordable housing, according to a research document published by the Greater London Authority. The GLA report looks at...
MUTUAL and co-operative housing could turn around London's shortage of affordable housing, according to a research document published by the Greater London Authority.
The GLA report looks at the potential of mutual housing and community land trusts (CLT) for people on low and medium incomes.
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