YMCA Exwick Community

YMCA Exeter

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YMCA Exwick Community

Our Exwick homes are shared two-bed properties with a garden and parking space. We will thoughtfully match you with the right housemate carefully before you move in. Exwick is a quiet, private and homely area, and new residents get to help design and decorate their lounges.

Affordable shared housing close to the centre of Exeter, for those leaving Supported Housing

The YMCA Exwick Community is a positive community within the Exwick area of Exeter for young people who are at the end of their journey within supported accommodation, but would still like some low-level support.

The shared houses come furnished, with a shared kitchen space, double bed, and toilet and shower room.

All bills, including council tax and wifi are included.

The YMCA Exwick Community is designed to meet the needs of young people aged 18-29 who:

Are currently living in Supported Accommodation (or similar), *
Are in employment or ready to enter into employment, *
Have a proven ability to successfully manage living independently
Are willing and able to engage in the support community and with support staff.
Are seeking shared accommodation.

* We recognise that there are circumstances and situations that do not fit neatly into these two descriptions, and we welcome applications where these situations are given explanation and detail where the applicant feels that this is appropriate.

Please find more information in our FAQ section.

YMCA Exeter’s stage 3 accommodation in Exwick is a homely, friendly and peaceful option not far from St David’s Station and with beautiful views of the city. Our residents are very independent so we don’t have support workers but each house has a tenancy officer who will interview and move in in new residents, and be available for specific housing related support.

When residents first move in they need to complete our Trainer Programme with their tenancy officer. This can take up to 6 months and involves proactively evidencing some of the independent living skills that we know our residents have learned in supported accommodation, as well as few new steps towards being part of the local community and using YMCA Exeter’s support tools, like our Rent Portal, where you can see exactly how much rent you have paid and what you owe whenever you want.

Once the Trainer Programme is completed, our residents become Stage 4. At this point they can settle down and we no longer require evidence from them. We expect residents to stay with us at Exwick for around 5 years – there isn’t a specific time limit. We ask stage 4 residents to take part in the community at YMCA at least 6 times a year, because we know how important community is for long-term wellbeing and resilience. We have many options for how residents can join in with their community, including through our digital support platform, our cafes, pub quizzes and drop-ins, our Ambassador Events, trips and socials and loads more.

For the year 24/25, full rent in our Exwick houses is £151.88 per week and housing benefit can cover all but £18 of this. All bills are included, no council tax. The houses have gardens, a parking space, kitchen, lounge, bathroom, storage and two bedrooms. We are careful to match housemates before they move in so that the whole house is a comfortable, shared home with a friendly atmosphere. Staff carry out property checks every 3 months. The rooms are single occupancy, but residents are allowed occasional guests. Smoking is not permitted inside the houses but ash trays are provided in the gardens. We encourage residents to work with our maintenance team to make each house and garden their own space that reflects their personality.

Mighty Networks is the name of the app that we use to share information about how Sidwell Studios works, advertise any notices, and share what is happening in the local community.

The app can be found here. Once downloaded, search for YMCA Exeter and follow the sign up process. Please use your real name as it will help speed up processing the join request!