Who we are

Founded in 1980 Phoenix is a fully mutual housing Co-operative that is governed by its tenant members. We seek to provide accommodation for single people in housing need who are on a low income.

Our history

For over thirty years we have provided a local, volunteer led solution to the problem of homelessness in East London.

In the beginning Phoenix licensed all its properties from Local Authorities and Housing Associations, providing short term, shared and affordable accommodation in properties that would have otherwise remained empty.

The Co-operative expanded in 1992 when it merged with the housing co-operative, HCH1.

In 1993 the Co-operative purchased 10 properties from the London Borough of Hackney. These properties were subsequently developed to provide longer-term housing for Phoenix members.

Today, within Phoenix there is a mixture of short-life and Co-op owned accommodation across two London Boroughs. At present the Co-op manages over 150 short-life properties that provide 203 bed spaces and it owns sixteen permanent properties, which provide 57 bed spaces.

How does it work?

Phoenix is a fully mutual housing Co-operative and both depends upon and encourages the active participation of all its members.

We have four permanent staff who report to the Management Committee which is made up of members of Phoenix.

The Management Committee is elected once a year at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), and reports to the entire membership at twice yearly General Meetings, is responsible for the governance of the Co-operative. A number of sub-committees, also made up of voluntary members, monitor specific areas of Phoenix’s performance.

The Committees are:

Management Committee (ManCom)
Development Committee (DevCom)
Welfare Committee (WelCom)
All Committees meet on a monthly basis. Meetings are held in the evening, normally between 7pm- 9pm.
Terms of reference are available for all Committees and if you would like more information about the work of these Committees, please contact the office. Committees are open to all current Phoenix members.

What’s good about Phoenix?

In addition to providing homes for people in housing need Phoenix, through its belief in self-help and co-operation has, right from its inception, sought to create a community where people can learn new skills and develop friendships.

For people who wish to join Phoenix’s Committees we can provide training opportunities to learn how to run organisations like Phoenix.

To foster the community spirit members organise social events, produce the Phoenix Flame newsletter and get involved in a range of projects. This website, for example, was designed and created by the members themselves.

What is short life housing?

Short life  is where a landlord, often a Housing Association or Local Authority, licenses a property to a Co-operative like Phoenix for either a fixed term or for an open-ended period with a notice of termination of one to three months.

Phoenix will pay an agreed fee to the Housing Association to license the properties. Phoenix will then invite new members from our waiting list to view the property.. Phoenix will be the landlord and the tenant will sign an unprotected contractual tenancy. Phoenix will be responsible for managing the tenancy. We will ensure that any void properties are filled and we will collect the rent and chase rent arrears. Phoenix is usually responsible for carrying out the internal maintenance to the properties that are short life. However, the responsibility for routine maintenance varies from landlord to landlord and Phoenix is very flexible in how the maintenance is managed.
When the landlord wants the property back Phoenix will serve the member with an Notice to Quit (NTQ), ending our tenant’s tenancy, and make arrangements to give vacant possession to the landlord on an agreed date. The landlord has no responsibility for re-housing our members.

Why Short life?

Properties earmarked for demolition or major refurbishment can be let rather than left empty. Tenants in schemes planned for major works can be decanted and their properties short-lifed until the works commence, thus significantly reducing the complexity and difficulty of moving sitting tenants before these schemes start. A landlord will get a guaranteed rent, the properties will be lived in, and maintained and managed by Phoenix.

Why Phoenix?

Phoenix has over 30 years’ experience in short life property management, with an excellent record of handing back properties on time and in good condition. Phoenix has well established and good working arrangements with Poplar HARCA, Peabody Trust, Sanctuary, Newlon and Bethnal Green and Victoria Park Housing Associations and over the years we have also short-lifed properties from the London Boroughs of Hackney and Tower Hamlets.

Problems?

Phoenix is the landlord and is responsible for the tenancies, and because they are unprotected, it is an easy matter of gaining possession. If there are any tenancy issues Phoenix is responsible for dealing with them.

Questions?

If you have any questions please contact Colin at Oxford House office.
Email: mail@phoenixhousing.co.uk
Telephone 020 7033 9539
Website http://www.phoenixhousingcoop.org