Housing Cooperative

Housing Cooperatives are buildings and real estate owned and collectively managed by its tenants without a landlord, often within the context of a capitalist economy.

Research on Housing Cooperatives

Research from Toronto, Canada found that housing cooperatives had residents rate themselves as having the highest quality of life and housing satisfaction of any housing organisation in the city. Other research among older residents from rural USA found that those living in housing cooperatives felt much safer, independent, satisfied with life, had more friends, had more privacy, were healthier and had things repaired faster.

Australian researchers found that cooperative housing built stronger social networks and support, as well as better relationships with neighbours compared to other forms of housing. They cost 14% less for residents and had lower rates of debt and vacancy. Other research has found that housing cooperatives tended to have higher rates of building quality, building safety, feelings of security among residents, lower crime rates, stable access to housing and significantly lower costs compared to conventional housing.