Frequently asked questions
1) Can I have a pet?
The Residents Association and the Lessees (flat owners) would make decisions about pets, and if unanimous, it would be possible. The flats with separate street entrances would be the most suitable in which to have a pet.
2) Are there any restrictions?
Yes there are. For instance you may be expected to be part of various rotas like cooking duty, the pets policy as above, having to ask the meeting if you want to paint your front door etc. Cohousers look at these restrictions as positive, communal and inclusive. Most of the restrictions are not imposed rules from outside but agreements made by consensus.
3) Will my trumpet playing be a problem?
Coflats Slad Brook has a very high level of sound insulation between flats. This is considered to be very important for good neighbour relations. Trumpets may test the sound insulation to the limit. If windows are open, say in the summer, no amount of insulation will work. It's important to balance people's needs. Often the residents association meeting is an ideal place to debate conflicting needs and come up with a workable solution. It is also there when solutions fail or need re-addressing.
4) How does the Guest Room work?
The guest room allows residents to have guests stay within the common house. They can use the shower room and communal kitchen. see the common house plan.
It will be bookable via a simple sheet of paper on the noticeboard. There may be a small charge for cleaning. There will be a limit per household on how many days you can book. This can be flexible and swappable and arranged by the residents association.
5) Do I have to be vegetarian?
Of course not. You can eat what you like in your own flat. Often common house dining rooms are designated as either vegetarian or vegan. Vegetarian and organic will be the default. This can be changed if residents unanimously decide to.
6) How do I sell my flat?
It's simple to sell. Sell in the normal way, you choose the selling price. With these restrictions:
The residents association will make decisions by consensus. New residents will need to have some training in this. If deadlocked a decision can be made by a simple majority at the following meeting.
The directors of the Freehold company can override some residents association decisions and decisions for spending more than £2,000. In practice the directors will probably be mostly the same people as the residents. The exceptions will be those renting from owners.
8) How do the laundry and meals work?
The laundry system will be administered by the residents association. It could either be completely free to use, even having communal washing detergent. Or there could be a small charge for each use. Meals would work similarly. Each resident would be expected to cook about once a month. That would allow 5 common house meals per week.
More would be exciting. Residents would pay around £3.00 per meal per adult for good quality vegetarian, fresh and mostly organic food.
9) Can I rent out my flat?
Yes, renting out your flat is easy and there is always a demand from cohousers wanting to rent both short and long term. The same stipulation as per selling would apply. Any rental or lodgers agreement would need to have a special Cohousing clause. The tenant must agree to the principles of cohousing e.g. being on the cooking rota and be a member of the residents association. There is a one off (0.5% of annual rent) fee payable to the Residents Association.
10) How noisy will it be?
Slad Brook Coflats is right in the middle of town. It is right in the heart of the cafe culture and arts scene. The roundabout at the corner necessarily has very slow moving vehicles, so there are no fast cars or even any cars driving more than 10 MPH. The triple glazing and sound insulation makes it very quiet inside. The courtyard is protected from onlookers and traffic by high walls - it's a great place to eat communal meals and just hang out. There may be some noise from the Queen Victoria pub, but they are very respectful and responsive to feedback.
11) Who are the developers
The Cohousing Company, run by David Michael and Helen Michael, is the developer and main contractor of CoFlats Sladbrook. The company has an excellent track record. It has completed 3 other cohousing communities - Springhill Cohousing (Stroud), Coflats Lansdown (Stroud) and Frankleigh Coflats (Bradford on Avon) as well as Tower House project (Stroud). See links and articles for more information.
12) What is the service charge?
The service charge will initially be £30 per month per flat. This covers the heating for the common house and shared space. Common house electricity, water rates and building insurance for all the flats and the common house. It will pay for any maintenance and repair. It is expected that residents will do a lot of the caring, cleaning and basic maintenance over the years. A reserve fund will gradually build up, topped up from time to time by 1% of sales when people sell their flats and 0.5% of any rentals. The service charge can rise if needed.
13)
14) Is there a guarantee of any sort?
Your flat will come with a 5 year defects warranty. That means that anything serious will be fixed within that period. There is a £1,000 excess. Any problems you do encounter will be dealt with very promptly by the Cohousing Company during the first year.
15) When can I move in?
Coflats Sladbrook was completed in October 2015 and fully occupied within 2 weeks. Most flats are rented out by the Cohousing Company. Please see the home page for any flats available to rent. It is possible to buy the rented flats with existing tenants. You must agree to the principles of Cohousing as a Landlord.
16) Why will my mail/post be delivered to the Common House?
This means that people will bump into each other when collecting mail. The communal laundry provides another reason for ad hoc meetings. These uses plus sharing meals and other activities all mean the common house will get well used. It can take a while to understand the function of the common house and for us to learn to use it as part of our living space.
17) What about drinking alcohol in the Common House?
The default is that no alcohol is to be drunk in the common house. This is to allow dynamic, open, responsible and inclusive social interactions. If the leaseholders, residents and freeholder unanimously agree, that policy can be changed for a year at a time.
The Residents Association and the Lessees (flat owners) would make decisions about pets, and if unanimous, it would be possible. The flats with separate street entrances would be the most suitable in which to have a pet.
2) Are there any restrictions?
Yes there are. For instance you may be expected to be part of various rotas like cooking duty, the pets policy as above, having to ask the meeting if you want to paint your front door etc. Cohousers look at these restrictions as positive, communal and inclusive. Most of the restrictions are not imposed rules from outside but agreements made by consensus.
3) Will my trumpet playing be a problem?
Coflats Slad Brook has a very high level of sound insulation between flats. This is considered to be very important for good neighbour relations. Trumpets may test the sound insulation to the limit. If windows are open, say in the summer, no amount of insulation will work. It's important to balance people's needs. Often the residents association meeting is an ideal place to debate conflicting needs and come up with a workable solution. It is also there when solutions fail or need re-addressing.
4) How does the Guest Room work?
The guest room allows residents to have guests stay within the common house. They can use the shower room and communal kitchen. see the common house plan.
It will be bookable via a simple sheet of paper on the noticeboard. There may be a small charge for cleaning. There will be a limit per household on how many days you can book. This can be flexible and swappable and arranged by the residents association.
5) Do I have to be vegetarian?
Of course not. You can eat what you like in your own flat. Often common house dining rooms are designated as either vegetarian or vegan. Vegetarian and organic will be the default. This can be changed if residents unanimously decide to.
6) How do I sell my flat?
It's simple to sell. Sell in the normal way, you choose the selling price. With these restrictions:
- You need to give 4 weeks notice to the community, allowing them to find a buyer. In practice this saves you estate agents fees and is a great help.
- If you lower the price, you need to serve notice again
- The new buyer must sign a deed stating that they agree to the principles of cohousing e.g. being part of the cooking rota, that they will abide by the decisions of the residents association made from time to time.
- On completion there is a single 2% fee shared by the Residents Association and the Cohousing Company.
The residents association will make decisions by consensus. New residents will need to have some training in this. If deadlocked a decision can be made by a simple majority at the following meeting.
The directors of the Freehold company can override some residents association decisions and decisions for spending more than £2,000. In practice the directors will probably be mostly the same people as the residents. The exceptions will be those renting from owners.
8) How do the laundry and meals work?
The laundry system will be administered by the residents association. It could either be completely free to use, even having communal washing detergent. Or there could be a small charge for each use. Meals would work similarly. Each resident would be expected to cook about once a month. That would allow 5 common house meals per week.
More would be exciting. Residents would pay around £3.00 per meal per adult for good quality vegetarian, fresh and mostly organic food.
9) Can I rent out my flat?
Yes, renting out your flat is easy and there is always a demand from cohousers wanting to rent both short and long term. The same stipulation as per selling would apply. Any rental or lodgers agreement would need to have a special Cohousing clause. The tenant must agree to the principles of cohousing e.g. being on the cooking rota and be a member of the residents association. There is a one off (0.5% of annual rent) fee payable to the Residents Association.
10) How noisy will it be?
Slad Brook Coflats is right in the middle of town. It is right in the heart of the cafe culture and arts scene. The roundabout at the corner necessarily has very slow moving vehicles, so there are no fast cars or even any cars driving more than 10 MPH. The triple glazing and sound insulation makes it very quiet inside. The courtyard is protected from onlookers and traffic by high walls - it's a great place to eat communal meals and just hang out. There may be some noise from the Queen Victoria pub, but they are very respectful and responsive to feedback.
11) Who are the developers
The Cohousing Company, run by David Michael and Helen Michael, is the developer and main contractor of CoFlats Sladbrook. The company has an excellent track record. It has completed 3 other cohousing communities - Springhill Cohousing (Stroud), Coflats Lansdown (Stroud) and Frankleigh Coflats (Bradford on Avon) as well as Tower House project (Stroud). See links and articles for more information.
12) What is the service charge?
The service charge will initially be £30 per month per flat. This covers the heating for the common house and shared space. Common house electricity, water rates and building insurance for all the flats and the common house. It will pay for any maintenance and repair. It is expected that residents will do a lot of the caring, cleaning and basic maintenance over the years. A reserve fund will gradually build up, topped up from time to time by 1% of sales when people sell their flats and 0.5% of any rentals. The service charge can rise if needed.
13)
14) Is there a guarantee of any sort?
Your flat will come with a 5 year defects warranty. That means that anything serious will be fixed within that period. There is a £1,000 excess. Any problems you do encounter will be dealt with very promptly by the Cohousing Company during the first year.
15) When can I move in?
Coflats Sladbrook was completed in October 2015 and fully occupied within 2 weeks. Most flats are rented out by the Cohousing Company. Please see the home page for any flats available to rent. It is possible to buy the rented flats with existing tenants. You must agree to the principles of Cohousing as a Landlord.
16) Why will my mail/post be delivered to the Common House?
This means that people will bump into each other when collecting mail. The communal laundry provides another reason for ad hoc meetings. These uses plus sharing meals and other activities all mean the common house will get well used. It can take a while to understand the function of the common house and for us to learn to use it as part of our living space.
17) What about drinking alcohol in the Common House?
The default is that no alcohol is to be drunk in the common house. This is to allow dynamic, open, responsible and inclusive social interactions. If the leaseholders, residents and freeholder unanimously agree, that policy can be changed for a year at a time.