
Community Led Housing is where people play a leading and lasting role in providing their own homes. Schemes are driven by not-for-profit organisations that are democratically controlled by and accountable to their specified community, where such organisations own, manage, or steward homes in a manner of their choosing. The benefits to the same specified community are clearly defined and legally protected in the long term. Examples include Co-operatives, Cohousing, and Community Land Trusts, and all lead to significant social value.
Part of our purpose at CDS is to promote and enable co-operative and community-led housing solutions. Through Community Led Housing London, we support groups with advice and mentoring from an early stage, and work with councils and others to create opportunities. This initiative was established with the Mayor of London in 2018, and in close partnership with the Community Led Homes alliance nationally, including the Community Land Trust Network, the UK Cohousing Network, and the Confederation of Co-operative Housing.
We also use our co-op services and experience as a Registered Provider to support and enable more community led housing in London and beyond.
If you’d like to explore working with us, please contact our Community Led Housing Director, Levent Kerimol
Community Led Housing updates
What will the housing co-ops of tomorrow look like?

On 21st December 1844, a group of 10 weavers and 20 other small merchants banded together and opened their first store at 31 Toad Lane, in Rochdale, Lancashire. Selling just …
Read more...CDS helps RUSS Community Hub build

We attended the Rural Urban Synthesis Society’s (RUSS) Community Hub Build Launch in Ladywell, Lewisham. After working alongside RUSS in a number of ways in recent years, CDS have supported …
Read more...CDS visits Bunker Housing Co-op

In February, we visited a number of Community Led Housing projects in and around Brighton. Brighton is a city facing many of the housing issues that we see across the …
Read more...CDS formalises collaboration with CLT Network and UK Cohousing

The National Community Land Trust Network, the UK Cohousing Network and CDS Co-operatives have agreed to collaborate formally on supporting community-led housing groups across the UK.
Read more...National Community Led Housing Conference 2017

Mon 27 Nov 2017 10:00 – 16:30 Congress Centre The first ever National Community-led Housing conference, will be held this November. We are excited to be involved as part of …
Read more...Long Reads on Community Led Housing

CDS has a long history of innovation in community led housing, from devising early model rules for Community Land Trusts, and conceiving of the Mutual Home Ownership Society (MHOS). This …
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