Housing | Energy | Policy | Environmental Generalist | Community Volunteer (posts/views/opinions are my own)
What does this picture look like to you? If you said an apartment building or a condo, you'd be correct. It totally looks like that, but there's a difference. The difference is who owns the building and how this ownership is structured. Specifically this building is a co-operative and it is owned by its members, who also happen to live in the building. The members own shares in the co-operative and have the exclusive right to inhabit their homes. Like a condominium, there's a board and there are rules, and there are monthly fees, which depend on the ammenities of the building, etc. Another key difference though is housing co-operatives are focused on providing housing, a place to live, not a place to park your money, not an investment opportunity. Typically you can't rent out a unit (short or long-term) and the co-op board needs to approve if you want to sell your shares. What this means in practice is that homes in co-operative buildings are priced lower than similar condominium homes on the market. Financing is also different, but some options are available for mortgages. So, while this is a lot for most people to wrap their heads around, co-operative housing may be worth considering if you're looking for more affordable housing with a built-in sense of community. #Coops #Cooperatives #Housing #HamOnt #Ontario #Canada #RandomMusings
Paula Boutis
2mo
I think this is actually a co ownership model rather than coop housing. I used to work in the sector. They are frequently called coops but aren't. Housing co-ops are membership based and there are no shares and the members own nothing. They are governed under the Cooperative Corporations Act. They must be admitted as members and there is also a board of directors. Evictions are complicated with some happening through LTB and others through Superior Court. It used to be all evictions were at the Superior Court but that changed about a decade ago.
Isabel Melgarejo
2mo
Another benefit of co-ops and the sense of community is that, as a community everyone help each other out. Everyone has an eye on kids, everyone support each other when needed. Making life way easier for everyone, specifically for women.
Thomas Wagenberg
2mo
Interesting breakdown! Co-ops seem like a great option for people who want to focus on living in a community without the pressure of seeing their home as an investment. It’s nice to hear about housing that prioritizes affordability and connection over profit. Definitely something more people should consider!
Daniel Walfield
2mo
I live in a coop in Maryland and it works much better than the more common HOA.
Kevin D Brown
2mo
In the late ‘70’s CMHC had a robust program of support for cooperatives, mainly support for mortgages with very low interest rates. This allowed the majority of the housing co-ops that now exist to be started. Under pressure from (now failed - acolytes just don’t know it yet) neoliberal economic policies this support was ended, making new cooperatives far more expensive. Still, getting together to finance a build or renovation can remove the profit usually charged by developers, potentially leading to reduced cost of construction. There’s definitely potential to be gained, and government support, particularly in the face of property inflation, and the wicked combination of affordability and housing crises, is essential. Canada has not invested significantly in affordable housing support for ~40 years, and now faces 100’s of billions of $ in backlogged need. Passive House cooperatives should be heavily funded - does a trillion $ sound like a good start? - not the relatively paltry sums dedicated to the task so far.
Marc Z. Goldgrub
2mo
Now co-ops can evict people via LTB, but members can't enforce their rights except through the courts, which is super expensive. They sound nice, but the reality is less so. I know from working on a number of these cases...
Housing | Energy | Policy | Environmental Generalist | Community Volunteer (posts/views/opinions are my own)
2moLink to the listing that I took this picture from: https://realtor.ca/real-estate/27547600/307-107-st-josephs-drive-hamilton-corktown-corktown?utm_source=consumerapp&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=socialsharelisting