What is a housing cooperative ?

A housing cooperative is a collectively owned, owner-occupied, owner operated, non profit housing.

This definition suggests many reasons for one to be a member of a housing co-op. Some advantages include: 

• Cooperative housing will enable any household, regardless of family income to become a co-owner.
• Housing co-ops remove the adversarial relationship that exists between landlord and the tenant: they are the same people in a co-op.
• Unlike rental housing, co-op housing is collectively owned and operated by the occupants.
• Members have an equal voice in decisions affecting their housing. Decisions are made democratically; each member has one share and one vote.
• Housing co-op members participate in designing and maintaining their units, building a community and determining the policies and management of their housing.
• Housing co-ops provide a member with security of tenure as long as the member carries out his or her responsibilities.
•  Although a member's housing charges may equal market costs at first, over time they may become less than either rental or mortgage payments.
• When lower than market costs, housing charges can be considered a form of equity because a member will have additional income at his or her disposal.
• Housing co-ops stabilize housing costs by eliminating market speculation.

Further information about co-ops (external links)

Northern Alberta Co-operative Housing Association (NACHA)

Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada (CHFC)

In western Canada, co-ops have been a part of people's lives since the first half of the twentieth century. Alberta Wheat, credit unions, the Egg Marketing Board are familiar examples. In fact, co-op membership makes up a quarter of Canada's population. 

The history of housing co-ops is shorter. The first housing co-op in western Canada was formed in the 1960's. Several more began in the 1970's, due in part to supportive financing from federal government programs. Presently there are twenty housing co-ops operating in the city of Edmonton. They have received assistance from Communitas, Inc. since the early seventies.