National Freeholders Co-op

The problem:

The rise in leasehold ownership has been on the increase over the last 50 years and has increasingly been a cause of concern due to exploitative and complex processes facing those attempting to acquire freehold status..

This is a particular issue in apartment blocks where freeholds can often only be acquired via collective enfranchisement.

The increase in freeholds within the traditionally leasehold based housing, has caused many to become trapped in unsellable properties, which has led to a major government review with a wide-ranging set of proposals

Our Solution:

A National Freeholders Co-operative presents an option to create an organisation that can collectively own and acquire freeholds on behalf of tenants.

In practice this could take on a number of different models, from a national co-operative, owning freeholds across a varied portfolio of properties through to a set of different commonholds collectively purchasing and reselling freeholds. This structure could help to establish housing management co-operatives, would empower tenants and leaseholders, whilst also creating an organisation capable of both generating capital through freehold purchases/buybacks.

This also creates a clear democratic and accountable model to manage the share of freehold, with the titles owned directly by the national freeholder’s co-operative with individual tenants and freeholders constituting the members.

Through the organisation of such a body on a national level, many of the difficulties in organising a freehold purchase process, alongside the costs to entry, could be bypassed entirely by placing the burden onto the co-operative in exchange for a new ground rent model with a share purchase as an option for leaseholders to move towards direct freeholder status.

Areas of Impact:

  • Tenant rights

  • Housing management

  • Access to ownership

  • Ground rent control

  • Creation of new co-operative organisations

  • Strengthening communities

  • Ending exploitation

Why does this help?

  • A national freeholders co-operative would help to innovate the cooperative sector through creating a means for a new wave of cooperatives utilising an innovative approach to transforming private lets into co-operative organisations, facilitated through an umbrella organisation.

  • This model of financing would also create a new avenue for established cooperative’s to both see a financial ROI whilst also helping answer a serious issue in the UK housing market and help grow the cooperative sector as a whole.