Mary Ann Johnson Housing co-op
A group of individuals in north London who set up a housing co-op to solve their joint housing problems
Friends, we did it! In October 2024 MAJ completed the purchase of a 2 bedroom flat in Haringey and our member and her son have been living there ever since. It is a lovely little flat and it will stay in common ownership for generations to come. We couldn’t have done it without our amazing community of friends, comrades and supporters – thank you!
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 via Loanstock
What are 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!
(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
Forget daffodils. You really know it’s springtime when you hear the annual ad campaign by British Gas boasting about how they only just cut their prices because they like you so much and a fair world is what truly matters to them. Having said that, I’m pretty sure they were daffodils the neighbour’s cat pooped on the other day in our garden. But what has really been blossoming at MAJ housing co-op in the last few weeks is building works. After our neighbours agreed to sign the party wall agreement we have indeed started the works for the loft conversion at Chester Road, the property we currently own.
The good news is that Alec, a builder friend of ours, has agreed to do some of the work for free as a show of commitment to the principles of MAJ and Haringey Solidarity Group, the local activist group we are also involved in which will be using the loft once it’s finished. We are ever so thankful Alec.
The bad news is that Tony has started sawing through the ceiling and decided to make a hole in the roof so that the 5 stones-heavy steel beams that will support the loft can be fitted in. Using some of the grant money we received from Awards for All, we hired a company to crane the beams into the loft. We had the option to carry them up the stairs and fit them in ourselves, but Tony suggested it was safer to hire someone. Any excuse to make a hole in the roof…
Anyway, the works should keep us entertained for the next 6 months or so, during which we will learn some building skills as this was a requirement for the allocation of the grant. We are very much looking forward to this educational process. We are also full of wild, magnificent, possibly unfeasable ideas for this website, but mainly we want to look into ways of using it to advertise our office space-to-be to friendly and local activist groups.
More works took place at Terront Road, the property we have started to manage at the turn of the new year. They were mostly small repair and renovation jobs but they made the life of the co-op members who live there a lot better. Who would have thought being able to properly shut a door or to shower in a dry, unmouldy bathroom would make such a difference?
Finally, because too much is not enough, we are on the look out for properties near Chester Road and have even started thinking about ways to raise money. The aim is to get a place where the co-op members who do not currently live at Chester Road could all live together in a house we own, not just manage. What can I say, there’s just no stopping us. We’re like that at Mary Ann Johnson housing co-op. Today Chester Road, tomorrow the world!
Mary Ann Johnson Housing co-op 
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