Hastings Rental Health Housing Co-op

Hey lads, my name's Nichelle and I'm gona be running round Hastings this Sunday for the Hastings Half Marathon to raise awareness of the housing co-op i co-founded Hastings Rental Health with these decent women.

(helping each other move once again)

We campaigned hard 2 years ago to raise some initial funding to pay for much needed support and this has been going towards quotes from a local architect and sessions with an experienced co-op advisor. While we have some of this funding left, we still have a long way to go financially what with being assetless renter folk, so any more support would be greatly help on this long road.

('Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life . . .' Nelson Mandela)

Mostly I am out here running in front of you to raise awareness of the fact we are still going strong and fighting the good fight for a better way of doing housing. We are going to council Housing Strategy meetings to make sure community led housing is prioritised in their plans, we're at Hastings Housing Alliance meetings getting support from other housing groups, we're having meetings with Hastings Commons Community Land Trust, mortgage bank meetings, co-op advisor meetings, other co-op meetings information sharing and problem solving, architect meetings, any meetings you can think of vaguely related to housing or co-ops, we're doing em.

(Hastings Housing Alliance Festival HRH members co-organised July '24)

The latest point we're at is that we are partnering with Hastings Commons CLT (community land trust) to create 13 new homes. How it would work if that the CLT would be able to access grant money we can't because they are becoming a registered housing provider (called Living Rents).

This would make a build much more affordable. We would then rent these homes from Hastings Commons. As a housing co-op we would have control of the majority of the day to day running of the building, which would be governed by the co-op - the people who actually live in the building.

(Nichelle and Sarah shed building days)

The building and land would be held by the land trust for the community in perpetuity, so similar to if our co-op owned it, but it's a land trust instead, which we will be a part of, and anyone in the community can join and have a say in. Partnering in this way is the only way we can afford to make housing. And with the same community not-for-profit ethos, it makes sense.

Our 13 homes is a pilot project. Once the concept is proven, there will be a much bigger CLT and Co-op partnership development. That's where the landscape of housing starts to change and becomes affordable and more secure. We are keeping at this because we need this to work, all of us do! So we are making some noise about it.

Hear us and support us. And if you can't donate, please just share what we are doing and come cheer us on, cos running all the way round Hastings is not gona be easy!

Big love

Nichelle

& Hastings Rental Health

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