Lillee Robinson moved from Nottingham to Sheffield two years ago to be closer to friends who were studying there. Yet not being a student herself, the 21-year-old found it difficult to find affordable housing in the city. However, around six months ago Lillee saw a listing on Spare Room that introduced her to the world of housing co-operatives.
The rent was just £525 including bills and cleaning for a single room in a flat share in part of the well-known city centre Marples building, once a luxury hotel that was bombed in 1940. It seemed a dream compared with the £700 plus monthly rents Lillee was seeing for accommodation in the Sheffield city centre, her preferred location to be close to work as she doesn’t drive. The fact it was also part of a housing co-op appealed to her.
This is a set up where rather than being just tenants, residents are members who are encouraged to run the building themselves, from doing their own repairs and making their own improvements, to managing the finances and even holding viewings for prospective new members. Read Next Will I have to pay capital gains tax on my £30k investment profit? Paul Lewis responds In return, co-op members are contractually protected from dramatic rent increases with agreed caps. In The Marples’ case, it’s no more than 3 per cent, compared with the Sheffield average yearly rental increase of nearly 10 per cent.
“It’s a weight off your shoulders. In student housing, you can live in a room for a year, and the.