[4][5] Radical Routes emerged in 1986 from a network of people in London and Hull who wanted to develop workers' co-operatives.

[10] These loans have typically been used by member housing co-ops, in addition to finance from traditional lenders, to buy property.

[17] A 2014 round table report by Radical Routes and Friends Provident Foundation identified carpet bagging, among other things, as a systemic weakness within the existing housing co-op framework.

[18] 'Carpet bagging' refers to established co-ops significantly reducing their rents or, rarely, selling their property for private gain.

The report explores ways in which the systematic weaknesses might be addressed, mentioning the Mietshäuser Syndikat model as having provably solved the carpet bagging issue.