Housing cooperative
A cooperative (or co-op), is a group of people who voluntarily join together in a jointly-owned and democratic enterprise with the aim of meeting their social and economic needs. A housing cooperative is a form of community-led housing that allows local communities play a central role in providing their own housing. By combining the resources of the members, their buying power can be leveraged, lowering the individual cost of the services and products relating to home ownership.
A housing cooperative is similar to a housing association, in that it is a legal entity which owns real estate, but differs in that it is managed by its tenants, either fully or the majority. Each member of the cooperative is granted the right to occupy one housing unit, acting as a share purchase in the legal entity.
The ethos behind housing cooperatives is that it enables members more control over their community housing and encourages greater cooperation with others.
Housing cooperatives are registered with the Registrar of Friendly Societies at the Financial Services Authority (FSA). A registered cooperative can lease or purchase real estate which is then rented out to the members. The members pay rent to the cooperative, which acts as their landlord.
Generally, housing cooperatives can be categorised as either non-ownership (non-equity) cooperatives, whereby occupancy agreements often grant occupancy rights, similar to a lease; or ownership (equity) cooperatives, whereby purchase agreements often grant occupancy rights.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
From Chaucer to Fawlty Towers.
Electrotechnical excellence, now open for entries.
Net zero electricity grids BSRIA guide NZG 5/2024
Outlining the changes needed to transition to net zero.
CIOB Global Student Challenge 2024
Universitas Indonesia wins for second year running.
New project and cultural district described in detail.
The nature of EPCs, crticism and inaccuracies.
History, issues and redesign.
From waste recycling to energy performance the hierchy.
An introduction to WERCS and WEEE responsibilities
Dealing with 2 million tonnes of waste equipment a year.
Global BACS Market: analytics and optimisation
A BSRIA glance at building automation and control systems.
What it is and how to use it.
Types of insulating plaster by binder and insulant.
Investors in People: CIOB achieves gold
Reflecting a commitment to employees and members.
Scratching beneath the surface; a guide to selection.
ECA 2024 Apprentice of the Year Award
Entries open for submission until May 31.
UK gov apprenticeship funding from April 2024
Brief summary the policy paper updated in March.