MAJ is growing and we need your support!

Posted on by majhousingcoop

Mary Ann Johnson is a small - but very active! – housing cooperative.
We are now in the process of expanding the co-op and looking to buy another property to house our newest members – a woman and her son, who are about to become homeless again this summer (for the third time in two years!).
We are again reaching out to our friends and supporters to ask for donations or loans towards buying that property.

Why should I support MAJ?
Before going into the financial details, it’s important to stress that any contribution will go far beyond housing just this one family – the flat we buy will remain forever in common ownership and, in the long term, will be used as an asset that will allow the co-op to grow and house more people.
This might not solve the housing crisis, but it will remove one more property out of the hands of greedy landlords and give it back to the community. We honestly can’t think of a better way to use our collective resources! 

The ask
We need to raise around £200K in the coming months and we are asking our friends, comrades and supporters to contribute in one of the following ways:

  • A donation – we would love it if you could give us a big one off donation.
    We appreciate this is a big ask, but if you happen to have a few thousands burning a hole in your pocket (or conscience) and want to put them to a good cause, then we would be happy to speak to you 🙂
    In the past people donated anything between £100 – £20,000, so we know there is money in our community and every donation makes a difference.
Donate here

  • Loanstocks – these are loans that are given to housing co-ops for a set period of time (minimum five years, but, ideally, longer) and are repaid in full (as a single sum) at the end of that period.
    It would be brilliant if you can lend us the money with no interest, but, if you need a return on your investment, please speak to us, as we can offer a small interest each year (better than your savings account!).
    Loanstocks are legally arranged, but rest assured – MAJ has never defaulted on any of its loans and your money will be in safe hands!
Loanstock form

(or download a printable version of the form here)

You can make a direct bank transfer (of loanstocks or donations) to:
Mary Ann Johnson Housing Co-op
Account number: 65007763
Sort code: 089299
For loanstocks, please make sure you also fill in the form above (online or send us a printed version) to let us know your loan terms.

We would love to chat to you about this, explain it all in more detail (including sharing our financial documents) and discuss how best you can help us make this dream a reality. 

Don’t have money but know some rich folks who might be up for helping a small rad co-op? Feel free to share this page or direct them to us.

With gratitude, love and solidarity,
MAJ Housing Co-op members

Next Steps

Posted on by majhousingcoop

Now that all our current members in need of housing are finally housed, we’ve been discussing next steps. We are thinking about the financial, organisational and political issues involved in further expansion (getting more members and seeking another property), while also trying to be more ‘outward-facing’ and engaged locally. We are supporting two London groups with advice and help to set up as housing co-ops and acquire housing, and are aiming to collaborate further with other local groups and individuals around housing issues – this should (hopefully!) become easier as covid gradually recedes…

We are getting solar panels installed on two of our houses, and are looking into buying the freehold on our flat, so that our homes become more sustainable and secure.

MAJ members continue to be involved in Haringey Solidarity Group, Rebel City, St Ann’s Redevelopment Trust, PCU (the therapists’ trade union), local food co-ops and choirs. We continue to be active in Radical Routes (mainly Secretarial Working Group). We have one member currently doing the Co-op Culture Barefoot Co-op Development Training, and hopes that this can be put to good use in Radical Routes and locally.

Not much going on in the gardens at present, but our Disco Shed (built at Manor Road last summer) has been a focal point of several outdoor social gatherings during autumn and winter!

We’re looking forward to seeing more people in real life again and not just on Zoom, and hoping for better days ahead…

All Good Messy Fun… MAJ Buys New Fixer-Upper

Posted on by majhousingcoop

We did it! MAJ purchased a new ground floor flat in Tottenham at the beginning of the year, securing a family home for two tenants. It is such a sense of achievement when we get another property under our belts because every home we secure takes the power and profit away from unscrupulous landlords and places it with us, the tenants. As is always the case when Mary Ann Johnson Housing Co-op buy somewhere, the new place is a real fixer upper and we are having to work hard to get it livable before our members move in. And there is always more work to be done when you get stuck into it, as we discovered when we began work on the bathroom.

Having thought it was a simple task of stripping the old tiles and replacing with new, we discovered that the plasterboard wall behind the shower was damp and unsound, so instead of just replacing tiles we will also have to remove and replace a portion of internal wall. At one point during our Sunday work day, three hammer and chisel wielding co-op members were busily ripping out tiles which was all good messy fun!

There were actually two layers of tiles! It’s a good thing we decided to replace them as we’d never have known how bad this internal wall was if we had decided to make do…

Other rooms were given a fresh lick of paint, and despite the horrific weather caused by Storm Ciara another work party busied it’s-self clearing stuff out of the rain lashed back garden.

There is still a lot more to do, from fixing the boiler to making space for a fridge (we can’t figure out where the previous tenants kept theirs – there is no space for one or sign that one ever existed in the kitchen!) and other structural issues, as well as decorating, laying floor coverings and getting it cosy. It’s a lot of work but satisfying to think that this is an affordable home to be managed by its tenants and not by greedy landlords for profit. Thank you so much as always to our funders who make all of this work possible – your generosity means one more Tottenham family have a secure and affordable home.

Welcome To Our New Website

Posted on by majhousingcoop

There’s been a lot going on for Mary Ann Johnson Housing co-operative recently, including buying a new property for the co-op which we hope to complete on in the next few days, plus two new members and their children joining and giving us much needed energy. We’ve been pretty bad at keeping our old website updated during the last few years and letting our funders know what we are getting up to, but with the launch of this new website we hope to change all that.

We’ve moved all our details and content over here ready for a fresh start, and will be keeping this site updated so be sure to refresh your links and bookmarks and don’t miss out!

It’s a big ask, but…

Posted on by majhousingcoop

Our last insecurely housed member needs a home!

Over the last eight years we have somehow managed to buy two houses in London to securely house most of our members. Buying one in London seemed hard enough, but managing to get the second seemed at times like an impossible dream. And we are really grateful everyone that helped us to make that dream come true. But, although nine of us are now securely housed we still have one member who is in insecure rented accommodation. Worse than that, we have just heard that the landlord where they live is now selling the house, so within two or three months our last insecurely housed member will likely be homeless.

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