Edinburgh Student Housing Co-op

Applications for January 2025 move-in are now closed. Information about when to apply for June 2025 move-in will follow soon.

Not sure whether this is the place for you? Have a look at our virtual tour to get a feel for the coop!

Below, prospective applicants will find necessary information including current rent and responsibilities of membership. Please do take the time to read this – it’s important stuff! Once you have applied, your application will be reviewed by the current members of the Co-op. After the application deadline, it will take us approximately 2 weeks to process applications, so expect to hear back from us after roughly 2 weeks (i.e. if the deadline is mid-March, you will hear back by the end of March).

❗️Please note that we only accept applications from individuals – the coop does not issue joint leases❗️

Rent

As of now, the rent is currently £388 per month. This includes all utilities, internet, and general-use flat goods (e.g. basic cleaning supplies and loo roll). We also require a deposit of £200. Rent generally rises each year with inflation (currently calculated using the May RPI figure).

Move-In Date

In most cases, tenancies can start on 1st September, 1st January or 1st June. You can move in after that date, but you’ll be liable for rent from the first of the given month (e.g. If you’d like to move in on the 12th of September, that’s OK, but you would need to begin your tenancy and rent payments from 1st September.)

Membership Share

To become a member, you will have to buy a limited liability share in the society. Owning a share makes you a part-owner of Edinburgh Student Housing Co-operative Ltd and entitles you and all other members to an equal say in how we manage our co-operative. Owning a share also means you accept the responsibilities of membership (see below). To become a tenant you must become a member. You must also be a matriculated student of a further or higher education institution. Shares cost £1, which is returned in full when you move out of the co-op (and thus cease being a member!). The share is ‘risk capital’, so in the unlikely event that the co-op goes bankrupt, you may lose your £1.

Membership Responsibilities

A housing co-operative is more than just an affordable place to live. In fact, it is affordable for the very reason that we manage and maintain our home ourselves—we are the landlords. As such, we expect all members to contribute actively to running the Co-op. The average member is expected to contribute 3–6 hours per week, including attending meetings. Whilst being flexible to member needs, we take member participation very seriously.

The Work Sharing Plan is a way of making sure all the work in the co-op gets done and that everyone contributes in an equal way. The system assigns roles to individual members and support them in carrying out their assigned role. There are many ways to contribute – please refer to the ‘Working Groups’ sections to learn more about how you could participate in the co-op.

In the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, it’s the important responsibility of all members to do our best to keep each other safe. With this in mind, we expect all members to take precautions against spreading the virus, ensuring the rest of the Co-op is notified if a flat has cases, so that other members can take care of your shopping, taking lateral flow tests etc.

We also highly recommend coming to one of our open days to see how the co-op works.

Equality & Diversity

If you think there may be any barriers to you becoming a member and living in the co-operative, please do let us know and we will try to help.

We aim for the co-operative to be a safe and welcoming community, with zero tolerance to discrimination—a space where minority groups and those traditionally oppressed within society can feel welcome and able to participate fully. Please read our Safer Spaces Policy before applying.

Flats

The coop has 24 different flats with 3-5 residents each. Each flat has a communal kitchen, toilet(s), and shower room. Once accepted into the coop, you will go through a flat allocation procedure to ensure you are matched with a suitable flat. You can find more information & pictures of flats here.