We believe that Communities can create the homes they need.
Community-led housing is a growing movement of people taking action to create decent and affordable homes themselves for their own communities. We call these People Powered Homes.
People powered homes can take different forms: cohousing schemes where people with shared values agree to live together as an intentional community; Community Land Trusts where communities come together to create permanently affordable homes for people in their area; Community Self Builds, housing co-ops and other forms of self-help housing.
People Powered Homes
Here in Leeds local people have created groundbreaking schemes which have inspired communities across the UK and beyond. Coops have long been part of the housing fabric of the city, and we have self-help housing organizations like Canopy, Latch and Gipsil doing amazing work to support people create local affordable homes.
Frontline was a pioneering project which saw a group of unemployed afro Caribbean men in Leeds build 12 homes for themselves and their families in 1996.
LILAC was a groundbreaking project completed in 2013 and it inspired us to set up LCH as a means to help create more projects like it.
Chapeltown Cohousing is the latest Leeds project. completed in 2023.
We believe anyone can create People Powered Homes
Anyone can start, volunteer and deliver a community led housing project. You don’t need to work in housing, you don’t need a degree in architecture, you don’t need to be a builder. If you think a change is needed, you can lead that change.
And that’s why we are here. To help groups that want to start schemes to develop new schemes ourselves and to work with others like Councils, landowners and developers to make it easier for community led housing to happen.
Our objectives
- As a Community Land Trust (CLT), acquire land and buildings to create homes for affordable rental and home ownership
- Support other people and organisations to create Community-led Housing (CLH)
- Through community share offers and other means, raise finance for new community-led homes
- Engage the people of Leeds, Yorkshire and beyond about how to create housing which makes for better places to live, for all of us
- Work at a strategic level, locally and nationally, to facilitate the development of the CLH movement
We will meet our goals by:
- Supporting – Providing an enabling Hub to help others create new community-led homes
- Developing – Building new community-led, affordable housing ourselves and in partnerships
- Movement building – National and local policy work and networking to create and support an environment which leads to more community led homes.
Leeds Community Homes and People Powered Homes Ltd
In 2021 we created a wholly owned subsidiary company, People Powered Homes Ltd, which carries out functions which further the aims of Leeds Community Homes. Broadly, LCH maintains the asset holding and is landlord to homes it creates; PPH provides fee-earning support to groups and organisations in order to further the aims of LCH.
Charitable Community Benefit Society
300+ Member shareholders
Board of Trustees elected from shareholders
Charity for Tax Purposes (HMRC)
Community Land Trust for Yorkshire and with Objects to: provide, develop and manage housing including social housing and community-led housing and providing assistance to help house people and associated facilities, amenities and services for poor people, or for the relief of aged, disabled or chronically sick people. Landlord and asset holder
Company Limited by shares
1 share owned by Leeds Community Homes
Board of Directors appointed by Leeds Community Homes
All annual profits donated to the Charity
Commercial entity for purposes which assist the Charity to deliver its objects, or which raise funds for the Charity
Enabler Hub service to provide fee-based support for groups and clients seeking to create community-led housing projects
