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Cooperative Housing Models
Non-Profit Rental
- Affordable housing (rent is (+/-) 30/35 % of income)
- Shares and deposits are returned when a member moves out
- Mixed-income = diverse community
- Active participation
- Security of tenure
- Community
- Common in Germany, Switzerland, Canada
Ownership (Equity)
- Access to equity
- A shareholder with exclusive use of housing unit
- Corporation owns the property
- Collective ownership of common spaces
- Long-term affordability is not guaranteed
- Pro-rata share of operating and maintenance costs
- At cost housing
- Common in Sweden, Norway, USA
Limited Equity
- Restricted price of shares bought and sold
- An affordable option for generations
- It May be restricted to low or moderate incomes
- Active participation
- Community
- Common in the USA
Mutual Aid
- Solidarity and self-help
- Principle of housing as a human right
- Democratic participation
- Self-managed and self-built
- Cooperative is the owner
- Facilitates access to adequate housing
- Common in Uruguay and spreading throughout South and Central America
Mutual Home Ownership
- A housing society managed by residents that ensures permanent affordability
- Each member is a leaseholder and has democratic control
- Members pay an equity share to the cooperative and retain equity in the scheme
- Members pay a monthly fee set at around 35% of net income that pays the mortgage and operating costs
- As members leave, existing members can buy more equity shares, and as people’s income levels change their equity share commitments can also change
- If someone leaves sooner than three years then they will not be entitled to increases in the value of their equity shares
- The housing society keeps a set percentage of any increase in equity to ensure the sustainability of the project
- Read our article on LILAC, a mutual home ownership community in Leeds, England
Right of Use
- Consists of collective ownership of a building or complex by the housing co-op
- Members have the right to occupy a particular unit by mutual agreement but do not hold exclusive ownership
- The co-op builds the building and becomes its owner
- The land may belong to the co-op or be granted to it privately or ceded by the municipality at a symbolic price and for a limited amount of time
- Co-op members gain access to decent housing at an affordable price
- This system avoids speculation and soaring real estate prices
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