CDS is a charitable community benefit society first established in 1975 to support the development of new housing co-ops. Over time, our role has evolved and we now own and manage homes across the South East of England. Our core purpose is to provide, support and promote co-op and community-led housing – so that more people can shape the things that matter to them – at home, in their neighbourhood or community. We truly value our cooperative roots and we are committed to supporting cooperation as an effective business model and as a set of valuable skills.
As a provider, we are a regulated housing association owning 700 social rented homes and 300 leasehold properties in London and the home counties.
As a supporter, we are the largest co-op service agency in the South East offering landlord and business services to around 40 co-ops and their c1800 homes. Our aim is to offer services that enable co-ops to thrive as independent and successful businesses.
As a promoter, we aim to use a proportion of our surpluses to invest in making community-led housing part of the mainstream housing sector. We will do this by collaborating with others to build tools and infrastructure – land, planning, funding, design and group support – so that more homes can be built more quickly and more easily.
