CoHousing with only a couple of households adds Quality of Life, is more Affordable
CoHousing provides the benefits of multi-generational skills and wisdom to successfully Grow our own fruit & vegetables, DIY [making & fixing things], living sustainably, biodynamic gardening – preserving the Perth hills lifestyle and most importantly – the environment.
The Solution to the Housing Crisis – extra reading 🙂
CoHousing with 1 maybe 2 other households involves sharing the large yard, garden, rainwater, solar PV & 23kw battery and communal laundry. Ideal for single parent who loves this lifestyle – after property settlement with a little bit of capital, but unable to get a mortgage 
So you don’t even have to have a washing machine as the laundry already has one and is common to all residents as most CoHousing lifestyles economise on this commodity.
The property is absolutely smoke-free and chemical-free and all residents agree to respect others by informing guests to maintain the healthy environment.
Located only 6km to Midland train with adequate bus service. The layout preserves the large yard, the environment, trees, birdlife, even the occasional visits by kangaroos on the cul-de-sac. Inspired by Ecodorp Boekel-sdg10 and their vision style 🙂 which is a grand scale project in comparison. We plan to live in a similar social way, without any government funding. So we are looking for residents who are very committed to contributing time and effort to this lifestyle, as described on the links to Boekel’s website and below Building opportunities are available with private investment.
GARDEN FLAT – example of Sustainable Home with Strawbales
The garden flat – which is sustainable feature-retrofitted has a strawbale living room extension making it 70m2 inside. It demonstrates the efficiency of careful modification with a spacious open plan, lots of double-glazed argon-filled windows & double glass doors for winter sun, top quality roof insulation, Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme* Certificate Number: OILOFDKB01 Date of Certificate: 4 Feb 2020. NHERS Energy Star rating: 7.7 / 10
Please Email to tell us about yourself and what you’re looking for in your lifestyle and your CoHousing experience in the Email after you’ve read all the following information, please.
Spacious main house 3 x 1, separate toilet, 2 living areas Rent to Buy Opportunity is Available
If you have always dreamed of living the healthy, relaxed Perth hills lifestyle – this spacious 3 x 1, separate toilet, is your opportunity – but only for the right family or group of 2-3 housemates who want this type of almost self-sufficient lifestyle Preference given to home-owners who have been forced out due to escalating mortgage problems. People interested in making it their home for the long-term are most desirable. Future ‘CoHousing’ Opportunities for the right people to eventually buy into what will eventually be a Coop/small company-owned property. Yes, I’m looking for the right people to possibly eventually buy in and share this property when I return to retire in the garden flat. An absolute non-smoking property.
Please write about what attracts you to the CoHousing lifestyle, and how you see yourselves participating, what handyperson skills? 
Rental Options Available
3 x 1 for a family or 2-3 adults $520/week
• Spacious sustainable self-sufficient 3×1 house shares garden, laundry etc with tenants
You get a discount of $50 on the following week’s rent when you help with property development on projects like building an extra carport, installing separate water pumps for drinking water, mesh on mandarin and vege gardens to keep wildlife from eating our produce – who can blame them. They can still forage on the other 1432m2 as we only need 20m2 caged
The long-term goal is to provide an opportunity for residents to buy in 🙂
Have a look at sustainable development goals (SDGs) exemplified in Boekel Ecodorp’s own project to see our future vision for the place and hopefully in the future, we can purchase a neighbouring property, when they want to sell, and grow into a village… What if another dream came true?
Imagine only travelling 30km to Perth city and returning to a daily experience of wildlife, flowers and National Park winter creek waterfalls…fresh fruit & vege at a fully self-sustainable property 300m from Greenmount Hills National Parks. The Midland train is 6km by bus/car and only takes 25 minutes – quicker than Fremantle and Joondalup to Perth !
An absolute non-smoking property. You need three written references who will also be contacted. Weekly payments for Utilities consumption covers that doesn’t exceed previous years’ normal consumption. And, you need to pay for your own contents insurance as it won’t be included in the landlords’ insurance. Barter exchange with extra property improvement work is welcome.Imagine having NO surprise bills, other than your car. Not worrying about prices of fruit & vegetables or lack of availability
CoHousing means that the occupants of the property need to invest some hours/week collaboratively working on jobs that are part of the self-sufficiency project, looking after the gardens/ fruit trees that feed you and maintain houses in self-sufficient ‘own-home’ ways See how it works in larger established project. Rent can be reduced by doing extra jobs on the property
- Of course I am lucky and old enough to have experienced what it means to be part of the hills community where people in the whole Shire gather together and support each other with community spirit not just when there’s a bushfire or flood … to build what is now known as Social Capital.
Please Email to tell me about yourself and what you’re looking for in your lifestyle and your relevant experience – in the Email after you’ve read all the information, please.
Sustainable Focus Self-sufficient Community-living
The property has already maximised solar passive benefits and lowest impact on the environment. This includes aesthetics which blend into the surroundings so that neighbours would barely see the building – something you’d never find in a rental in the greater Perth area.
- An Aerobic Treatment Unit [ATU] to suit the community’s requirements provides reticulation to fruit trees & grapevines planted around the property. Of course no oils, fats or sanitary things can go down drain, like all septic systems.
- Fire retardant trees, vines and sustainable building materials are preferred, although shadecloth is still used while vegetation grows.
- Rainwater tanks have supplied the dwellings, vege gardens and all other vegetation on this 1452m2 green block for over 6 years.
- Solar PV and battery storage has met all the house needs for nearly 2 years now. Good as off-grid, but still connected for summer 7c credits exchange for grid consumption in the dead of winter when heating exceeds sunshine – due to built up credit in summer – if you use shadecloth rather than excessive a/c !
Only a few minute’s walk to Greenmount National Park, about 17 mins walk to buses or 6 km drive to Midland train station.
More information and lots of photos/videos of building the flat living area on https://www.facebook.com/SustainableCohousingLifestyle and Sustainable Development Goals. The ‘not old but mature’ owner is passionate about sustainable CoHousing-living and acquired the property in 2013 to provide affordable, shared accommodation to women during that rental crisis. She also previously provided affordable accommodation to all people via Air BnB, but is now looking to settle with more permanent rental residents in the available spaces, and if you decide, you can start buying in.
Yes, I’m looking for the right people to possibly eventually buy in and share this property which is 1,452 ㎡, with 153,300 litres of rainwater collected each winter.
Initially, the co-house-mates rent while we all work together modifying and adapting agreements created by other small communities.
The most commonly preferred decision-making style is to work together like a Cooperative, and the Company could become the sole owner [which happens to suit the Shire’s ownership requirements of the block].
There is also the possibility of using the Co-housing Model which most commonly is based upon ‘Tenants in Common’ regulations. More information on this model can found at Cohousing Australia Group Forum
Imagine waking to bird chorus,
- showering in rainwater, drinking pure filtered rainwater,
- using solar PV’s and home battery storage system,
- growing more vegetables, fruit and
- daily wildflower & bushwalks while living only 30 km from Perth CBD in the relaxed Hills community lifestyle
Community-living 3 x1 house beyond the parent’s retreat [now storage] from roof of grannyflat.
Please tell me about yourselves and what you’re looking for in your lifestyle and your relevant experience in Email
CoHousing Future Opportunities
- There is potential for 3 households to live on this property, but the third unit [parent’s retreat] needs development to achieve own upstairs private kitchen and living areas. A 4th dwelling can go over main house too.
- The most commonly preferred next step is to rent for a period while possibly developing an Agreement & method to buy into the 3 x 1 house. It is fine to remain as a rental tenant who treats the property like it was their own in cooperation with all other community members living on the property. This is true ‘social’ housing.
- More information on the CoHousing models of ownership can begin at Cohousing Groups Australia based upon a Co-housing Model. Information and support links for the Cooperative and other models can begin at definition of Cohousing with more info about smaller privately-owned projects at https://buildingcommunity.nl/projecten/.
Related Pages
Housing for separated mothers is possible using a collaborative Cohousing model
Common Questions about living in Perth Hills are addressed in pages like:-
Manage Fire Risk Stress-free
Compost Weeds & easy-management tips 🙂
What are Good or Bad weeds?
Rainwater pump and ‘water in tank’ tests and checklist
Septic tank & pipes Inspection / Fix checklist
Food Compost