Mutual Housing is membership based housing – where some form of community membership owns and/or manages new or existing homes.

There are many different ways to set up mutual housing that suit a range of circumstances and the Mutual Housing Group aims to unite the groups that represent these different approaches. The common thread that runs through these approaches is that the community membership aspects behind them bring a range of social and community benefits for the people living in the homes as well as for the community at large....

Mutual Housing models include housing co-operatives, tenant management organisations, community self-build, community land trusts, community gateways and community mutuals, self-help housing schemes and cohousing schemes. The model used is not the important issue – the key issue is what communities want to achieve, what their circumstances are and the democratic community principles behind the project.

The Commission for Co-operative & Mutual Housing explored the mutual housing sector in 2009, concluding in their report "Bringing Democracy Home" that mutual housing options should be available to people and setting out a series of recommendations. The Mutual Housing Group was set up as a result of those recommendations.

This website aims to provide some basic information to people wishing to explore community-led housing options. It links people to the various organisations that exist in the Mutual Housing Sector from where you will be able to get more information about different approaches available.