Housing co-operative targets empty Hackney homes

A housing association is on the lookout for disused buildings in Hackney to transform into desperately needed affordable housing.

Phoenix Housing Co-operative is looking for empty houses or other premises that are dilapidated or in need of repair as part of its new project to provide flats for single people and bring empty housing back into use.

The co-operative has already started renovating a disused building in Spey Street, Bow [Tower Hamlets] to provide studio flats for some of its members.

“As single people, we don’t have any statutory right to council housing. There’s not a lot of security out there,” says Phoenix chairperson Penny Quinton. “We work hard to try to give our members a little more security, and we work with the landlord so we know when they will want the property back.”

Phoenix’s unusual scheme is intended to benefit all involved – the owners of the property get their building refurbished for free, the housing association gets flats for its members to live in, and the apprentices who work on the site received much-needed training and skills.

Co-operative members are a mixture of artists, key workers and others, and include a bike repair person, an actor and a circus performer.

Paul H., a volunteer on the Spey Street project, said: “We have a win-win situation. We’re getting housed and the people who own the property get something from the property.”

The Pheonix initiative comes as new government rules, introduced this month, mean reduced housing benefit for many, and dearer rents for some housing association tenants.

Though most Hackney housing associations contacted by the Citizen say the changes will be phased in gradually, the pressure is still on for many people to find a reasonably priced place to live.

Young single people are set to be particularly affected, as they are generally the lowest priority for providers of social housing, and housing benefit changes will hit 25-35 year olds hard. For some this will be crunch point when they will either have to find a new way to make ends meet or leave inner London.

To contact Phoenix Housing, phone 020 7033 9539 or go to Phoenix Housing Co-op.