Founded in 1980, Phoenix provides a local, volunteer-led solution to the problem of homelessness in East London. In the beginning Phoenix licensed all its properties from Local Authorities and Housing Associations, providing short-term, shared and affordable accommodation in properties that would have otherwise remained empty. The co-operative expanded in 1992 when it merged with the HCH1 housing co- operative. In 1993 the co-operative purchased 10 properties from the London Borough of Hackney and developed them to provide longer-term housing for Phoenix members.
We have 2 types of Housing
1.Co-op Owned Housing
As of February 2025 Phoenix owns 26 properties, which house 66 members, these are a mixture of freehold houses and leasehold flats within Local Authority blocks. We have 1,2,3,4 and 5 bedroom properties. If you are offered a 2 bed or above property you will get your own bedroom and would expect to share the Communal Facilities such as Bathroom, Kitchen and Living Room. Within Co-op owned Housing you would have more security than if in Short-Life, however your tenancies are the same and you are expected to adhere to these agreements and the clauses set out in them
2. Short Life Housing
Short life housing is the housing model for the majority of properties that Phoenix manages. In this model, a landlord, often a Housing Association or Local Authority, licenses a property to us for a fee on either a fixed term basis or an open period with a notice of termination of six to twelve months. We then invite new members from our waiting list to view the property and occupy it under a tenancy agreement.
In this agreement Phoenix is responsible for managing the tenancy, including collecting the rent, chasing rent arrears if necessary and carrying out internal maintenance where appropriate; the responsibility for routine maintenance may vary from landlord to landlord and Phoenix offers flexibility on how this is managed.
When the period of tenancy ends, we serve the members-tenants with an Notice to Quit (NTQ), thus ending the tenancy agreement, and make arrangements to give vacant possession to the landlord on the agreed date. We then make every possible effort to re-house the displaced members-tenants. The landlord has no responsibility for re-housing our members.
Why Short Life?
Properties that have been earmarked for demolition or major refurbishment may spend a long time on stand-by (quite often several years) and we understand these could be let rather than left empty. By placing these properties in short-life tenancies until the works commence, the complexity and difficulty of moving tenants is vastly reduced. The landlord gets a guaranteed rent for the period the property is in stand-by and the properties are lived in, maintained and managed by Phoenix.
Why Phoenix?
Phoenix has over 30 years’ experience in short life property management, with an excellent record of handing back properties on time and in good condition. Phoenix has well established and good working arrangements with organisations such as Poplar HARCA, Peabody Trust, Gateway, Sanctuary, Newlon and Bethnal Green and Victoria Park Housing Associations, and over the years we have also ‘short-lifed’ properties from the London Boroughs of Hackney and Tower Hamlets.
Problems?
Phoenix is responsible for the tenancies and therefore, responsible for dealing with any problem that may arise from these, including issues with gaining possession. To ensure that these issues are dealt with swiftly and painlessly for all parties, we operate under non-secure contracted tenancies, normal tenancies for Fully Mutual Co-operatives.