Do you want to live with a community of people who support each other to create a collaborative, joyful home?
Do you want the rent you pay to be put towards making the house where you live better, where you get a say in improving the house and creating secure affordable housing in perpetuity, instead of lining a landlord's pockets?
We're looking for two housemates to join our housing co-operative in central Swansea, where you'll join a group of people who share responsibility and love for our home.
What is a housing cooperative and how is it different from renting?
Living in a housing co-operative, our rent is reinvested back in to the house, we can make improvements we choose and we share responsibility of maintaining the house.
You'll pay £1 to become a member of Golem Housing Co-operative which owns the house and will then be an equal shareholder and decision-maker along with everyone else who lives in the co-operative.
What's the house and co-operative like?
The co-op currently owns two houses: the original one was bought 14 years ago and the second one was brought in 2020. Both are in the Mount Pleasant area of Swansea, close to the city centre.
You'll be living in the first house where there are currently five adults and one dog.
The other house just across the road has six adults and a cat.
The house has four storeys including a communal partial-basement floor with a large living room/diner, kitchen, separate trolley and shower, and utility space. There is a second bathroom on the first floor, along with a communal spare room for guests. There is a south facing garden currently used for growing veg, herbs and flowers, as well as socialising.
We eat dinner together most nights - members take it in turns to cook once every week or two.
Many of the co-op members are queer and passionate about living sustainably and in community.
Our members also organise things like games nights and queer life drawing and take part in local activist projects and community events.
The available rooms are on the first floor and the second floor and both have partial sea views.
This sounds perfect! How do I apply?
Simply fill in our joining questionnaire and send us an email at recruitment[dot]golem@gmail[dot]com to tell us that you're interested in joining!
Rent starts at £375 per month (you can choose to pay more proportionate to your income if you earn a comfortable amount) and £70 bills (which may change as energy prices change). We don't ask for a deposit or references to make living here more financially accessible and easier.
Please note that due to the practicalities of the available room and house, the current vacancy is not suitable for someone with dependent children or others. In addition, we are unable to accept new members with dogs at the moment due to existing pets in the co-op.
What's the process to join?
Read through our FAQs and let us know if you need any more information about anything.
Fill in our joining questionnaire by Sunday 30 September. Co-op members living in both houses will review your response.
If it feels like we could be a good fit for each other, we'll invite you round for a cup of tea, to meet some of us and to see the house.
We'll then invite you to join us for dinner one evening.
If it's feeling like a good fit at this stage, we'll also ask you to do the following before your membership is confirmed:
Cook dinner for the house members (which you'll need to do every 1-2 weeks if you move in)
Join one of our monthly workdays, where we do tasks to maintain the houses
Attend one of our monthly co-op meetings, which you'll need to attend once you join to help keep the co-op running smoothly
Success! If you and the Golems are still happy after all these stages, you can move in.
There are several steps to this process but living in a housing cooperative is a lot of work and commitment so we want to ensure that you'd fit in and be prepared to put in the work required to live here. We aim to complete the process in around a month but it can take longer depending on availability of all involved and the number of applicants. We try to move things along as swiftly as possible but can't guarantee a potential moving in date for you until at least part way through the process.
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