A FIGHTBACK against Oxford's "medieval" private rented sector has begun in a quiet Cowley street with the arrival of the city's first housing co-operative for 16 years.

Six professionals in their 20s and 30s banded together to launch the Kindling Co-operative as a fresh take on ways to live in the UK's most unaffordable city.

In just over six months the group, who met through work, gathered £271,000 from 14 investors and bought a six-bedroom house in Church Hill Road, off Between Towns Road.

Investors included friends, work colleagues and supporters contacted through word of mouth, and via email, a website and Facebook.

The house is now effectively off the market forever. Member Audrey Versteegen, 32, said: "This is a model that can work for many others who are privately renting.

"This is the first one in Oxford that will prove it can work in the most expensive city in England."

All the co-op members formerly lived in houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) and were concerned they were priced out from buying a home in Oxford.

This year Oxford topped the list of least affordable cities in the UK, with prices 16 times average annual salary.

Co-op member Andy Edwards, 31, said: "Every lease renewal is a battle to not have the rent go up in a ridiculous way, and to get anything done beyond minimum safety.

"If you are not a family or a student who will accept anything, and you don't want to live in a dump, it's almost impossible."

The idea has been described as an alternative model for affordable housing and is embraced in other European countries such as Holland.

Kindling's investors will not own the house but will make a healthy profit from the rent.

Rates of return typically reach 3 per cent, or 2.5 per cent higher than the Bank of England base rate.

A mortgage was arranged with Triodos Bank, one of only a handful in the UK that will lend to co-ops, for the rest of the £550,000 property.

The house will be re-fitted so that up to eight people can live there, paying £400pcm in rent to the co-op itself. If Kindling folds it will go to the UK co-operative movement.

Marleen Bovenmars, 29, who moved to Oxford six years ago, said that while housing co-ops had never taken off in the UK they were popular elsewhere.

She said: "The main thing I noticed moving here from Holland was the different housing situation. I'd never really heard the term 'landlord' before.

"Oxford was quite a shock, coming here and seeing how badly maintained the houses were. It's almost medieval the way one person owns so many properties."

A fifth of Oxford's population now lives in HMOs and during 2015 a total of 49 landlords were taken to court for breaching HMO licenses.

The two main causes were HMOs being found to be unlicensed, and owners failing to comply with the conditions of their license.

Mr Edwards said: "Because landlords don't benefit from maintenance work or energy savings, many rented houses are in a bad state.

"We will work to ensure our house will be energy efficient and comfortable. A co-op is as much about community building and collective living as it is about ownership.

"If we can demonstrate it can happen in 2016 in the least affordable part of the UK, it will inspire others to think 'We can definitely do it here'."

Triodos Bank relationship manager Alex Higgins said: "We are seeing more and more co-ops coming through in the UK. They range massively; Kindling is a small group purchasing a house together, and then we have 25 families in a 30-bed mansion with acres of land.

"On the flipside you get the older generation that sell their houses and build a retirement village for themselves.

"As a bank, our level of debt is much lower than the average bank. Done in the right way it is a safe investment for the bank, and for our depositors."

Mike Rowley, Oxford City Council's board member for housing, said it was certainly "possible" the model could work.

He said: "It's difficult in an under-pressure housing market like Oxford because developers and buy-to-let landlords want to buy property quickly. Therefore it goes out of the financial reach of the co-operative groups.

"But if it can help provide a solution to the housing crisis, and be shown to be workable, we are keen to encourage and help."

MARLEEN BOVENMARS

Age: 29

Occupation: Head of operations, InsightShare

Salary: £23,100 per annum

Time in Oxford: Six and-a-half years

AUDREY VERSTEEGEN

Age: 32

Occupation: Forest campaigner, Environmental Investigation Agency

Salary: £34,000 per annum

Time in Oxford: Four years

ANDY EDWARDS

Age: 31

Occupation: Director, Transition by Design

Salary: £17,500 per annum

Time in Oxford: Six years

HANNAH SMITH

Age: 33

Occupation: Co-director of campaigns and research, People & Planet

Salary: £27,000 per annum

Time in Oxford: Three years

MIRANDA SHAW

Age: 29

Occupation: Freelance violin teacher and caterer

Salary: £3,000-£4,000 per annum (plus housing benefit)

Time in Oxford: Born in Oxford, returned from university in 2009

CHARLIE FISHER:

Age: 28

Occupation: Member, Transition by Design

Salary: £17,500

Time in Oxford: Six years