Overview

The application process consists of:

1. An email or message detailing why you want to live in SEASALT
2. An informal, in person meetup

Please remember that we would love to offer spaces to everyone that is interested in co-ops and creating a fairer more sustainable world but unfortunately we have limited spaces (only 7 bedrooms at the moment) and so this interview process is designed to help us select new members from those that share our values and aims and who we think would be a best fit for the co-op. 

Part 1 – Send us an email or contact us via a dm on social media!

Part 1 is the short email. We want to briefly know why you would like to join/live at SEASALT and what interests you about us, our project and our way of living.  This section is really giving us a picture of what motivates you about co-ops, community living, sustainable lifestyles and a fairer more democratic society. We want to know, what people would gain from living at SEASALT, what they would learn and how it would benefit them to live with us as well as how they think they can manage conflict and get along with people! There are no right or wrong answers here but it would be useful to read and research some topics about co-ops and why you like us if you are unsure as to where to start!

Writing a good email

As we have discussed there are no right or wrong answers when you write an application, provided you are passionate or interested in the topics mentioned below. As a starting point therefore, it would be good to research or revise the following areas:

• Co-ops and housing co-ops
• Communal living and why you want to live in SEASALT as oppose to private renting or other forms of housing
• How you would get on with people and manage any potential conflict
• To some extent: Housing Justice, politics, human rights, environment and sustainability

Try and get across these things:

• Your passion, interest and/or knowledge of these subjects
• Any relevant work, campaign or volunteering experience you might have (we find it really interesting to hear about people’s activism!) 
• Your lived experience of these areas – what is your experience of private renting? Did you grow up in a low income area that was hugely affected by politics?
• Why would SEASALT benefit you and what stands out about us? 
• What skills you already have and what you would like to learn or improve upon. 
• What you could bring to an autonomous housing setup where you might be given a little more responsibility.  

Please note: no experience or prior knowledge is necessary to make a strong application, your passion enthusiasm and commitment to improving your understanding is what really counts! Letting us know what interests you and what you would like to take part in are good things to get across to us. 

Write in your own style and what feels the most authentic and informative way to you. We won’t be judging applications on their formatting, spelling, grammar or other similar areas. Just the content.

Resources:

• Co-ops UK:  https://www.uk.coop/
• Wellbeing economics: https://neweconomics.org/campaigns/wellbeing
• Who Owns England: https://whoownsengland.org/
• Student co-op homes: https://www.studenthomes.coop/
• Community led homes: https://www.communityledhomes.org.uk/what-housing-co-operative
• Radical Routes: https://www.radicalroutes.org.uk/
• Brighton and Hove Community Land Trust (BHCLT – our partners): https://bhclt.org.uk/
• Our website!

If you have any further questions about this section then please get in contact with us.

Part 2 – Meetup!

Part 2, The meetup will be  with current members of SEASALT Housing co-op and would usually take place at the co-op or a neutral venue that is accessible to the applicant. However, as with the current circumstances (at the time of writing) in 2022, this could take place may take place online via Zoom, Teams, Jitsi or similar. This will be communicated to all applicants so don’t worry and if you have any accessibility issues relating to this then please drop us a message and let us know.

People at the co-op will want to get to know you as a person but they might ask you some formal questions about:

• Co-ops
• Communal living and why you want to live in SEASALT as oppose to private renting or other forms of housing
• How you would get on with people and manage any potential conflict
• To some extent: Housing Justice, politics, human rights, environment and sustainability

Don’t worry, we will try to make this process as informal and relaxed as possible, we mostly want to get to know you as a person and how you weill fit into our co-op and its slightly different lifestyle. Re-read the information in the above paragraph about section 1, part 2 for some advice on what kind of topics to research and information/passions to get across. Remember, this stage  only exists to allow us to make a difficult choice out of the remaining candidates – we have limited spaces and unfortunately we can’t offer a room to everyone who loves co-ops, as much as we’d like to. We are likely to have a lot of strong candidates and hopefully this information will help put you at ease before you meet us. 

Tips for the meetup

Relax and be yourself, everyone is different and deals with social situations in different ways. We know this and we much prefer to get to know people in a relaxed and accessible way, helping them to feel comfortable if we can. 

Successful applicants –  induction + signing the tenancy agreement and house rules

If you’ve made it this far then congratulations! You’ve not got long to go now (whoop!). The final steps are to read the tenancy agreement, the community charter and all of the rules/policies. You need to then sign the tenancy and community charter and send them to us (if you agree with them of course) –  NB: the tenancy agreement contains a clause asking you to confirm that you have read and agree with all of the rules/policies which is why you do not need to sign them each individually/separately. 

What happens next? – Confirmation and induction process

Confirmation: Once you have sent us your signed tenancy agreement, that’s it you’re officially a prospective member and tenant of SEASALT Housing co-operative! Rest assured we can’t wait to meet you, get to know you and welcome you in to our house to come live with us next year (or whenever you move in!). You will now be sent an email or letter to confirm, in writing, that you have been accepted as a prospective tenant/member.

Induction process: After confirmation, you will be sent your induction materials. This will include: 

• A copy of the tenancy and the members/tenants handbook (which will include all of the rules and additional information for all of our tenants/members) .
• Information about our buddy scheme and the option to have a buddy/mentor for 6 weeks+ when you move in.
• Information about and contact details of our welfare officer, our equality, diversity and inclusion policies and a personalised welfare plan. The welfare plan is optional and you can include as much or as little information as you like. It will only be viewed by the welfare officer and can be edited at any time – even after you move in. 
• Information about our member roles, which roles you might be able to take and confirmation of what responsibilities will be expected of you when you move in. Don’t worry, roles are just a contribution to the house and the co-operative or community spirit. We don’t except anyone to treat them like a full time job (unless they want too) and there might be a slight variance in the workload between roles simply because of each roles nature and any unforeseen circumstances.  

NB: We are still preparing some of these materials  so these are subject to our current progress!

I wasn’t successful what can I do?

If you weren’t successful don’t worry, we will hopefully be able to provide you with some feedback on your application and add you to our waiting list for the next available vacancy that we have. Rest assured we would love to provide accommodation to everyone that needs it but we have limited spaces. You’re always welcome to stay in contact, meet our members and support our campaigns!