FACTSHEET ABOUT COHOUSING COMMUNITIES OF OLDER PEOPLE

• Cohousing is a way of living as a group where people have their own self-contained apartments and shared common room, guest room, hobby room, etc. in a building designed both for growing old in and for ease of social interaction
• for couples and singles it is a means of enjoying social activity as part of a group and lessening the chance of becoming isolated if you are living on your own, are divorced or your partner dies
• it is a way of enjoying a balance of privacy and communality
• its members offer each other the kind of neighbourly watchfulness and support that comes from knowing your immediate neighbours
• there is a limit to their mutual support - it does not extend to long term, personal care which should be sought from professionals or the care services
• it is for people who are independent in the first place and not expecting the group to look after them
• it is for people who are keen to learn new skills and preserve old ones
• its distinguishing feature is that it is set up, managed and controlled by the group of people who live in it
• part of this control and of the success of cohousing is the group’s ability to select new members on the basis of their support for the ethos of the group
• building a sense of group solidarity is the most important feature of the process of developing a cohousing community

 Key points about cohousing for older people in The Netherlands

• developed by the Danes and taken up by the Dutch, cohousing has been going for 30 years in The Netherlands and more than 200 groups of older people either live in such communities or are in the planning phase
• it has been encouraged by Dutch governments as a means of preventing isolation and dependency among older people and therefore reducing demand on health and social services. It is also seen as a means of freeing up under-occupied family housing and providing older people with accommodation suitable for growing old in
• Many Dutch local authorities actively support the development of cohousing communities of older people
• Dutch social landlords allow groups to allocate vacant tenancies subject to safeguards against voids
• The groups often have a key role in the design of their accommodation
• The average age of the groups is c.70 years and their range from 50-90+ is important for the functioning of the group. 
• The average and ideal size of groups is held to be around 24 units or 30-40 people

Key points about cohousing for older people in Britain

• It does not exist here for older people and the Older Women’s Cohousing Project in London is pioneering the concept
• It would offer an alternative way of living for older people who want to keep their ‘own home’, live in a group setting that they run themselves and who also want company and security
• British housing finance, law and policy are not as favourable as in The Netherlands to the development of cohousing. A main difficulty is in accessing public subsidy so that the rented units and common space will be affordable and in securing nomination rights for the group

Key points about the Older Women’s Cohousing Project

• They are a community of women of 50 years and over, welcoming women from any background or culture as long as they are prepared to be active participants
• They are a mix of owners, shared owners/renters and renters
• Housing for Women, a housing association, and the Hanover Housing Group are acting as OWCH’s development partners. The Tudor Trust is actively involved in facilitating the aims of the group.

The OWCH group have focused on the process of building a sense of community and cohesion amongst themselves, sorting out their shared aims and deciding how they want to live as a group. They meet each month in North London and welcome new members.