UK Cohousing Network: Senior Cohousing Network

Cohousing is a way of living which brings individuals together in groups to share common aims and activities while also enjoying their own self-contained accommodation and personal space.

Cohousing has taken off as a model for living in later life in the Netherlands, US and Denmark and can improve older peoples' lives by reducing isolation, encouraging active contribution to a community, developing new interests, pooling service budgets and encouraging peer support.

There are currently several successful cohousing communities in the UK but as yet it has failed to be adopted as a model of living in later life despite strong interest from older people and government.

The UK Co-housing Network is developing and testing a service that looks to link up interested older people and co-housing groups with developers, helping to overcome some of the barriers that currently exist for interested groups to make their cohousing development a reality.

The service will comprise a network service for older people, matchmaking them with developers who are interested in this area. It will also provide a consultancy service to developers and housing associations who would like to offer a greater choice in their developments and services.