Housing Cooperatives
What are Housing Cooperatives?
In the cooperative housing model, residents own shares of the cooperative, which enables them to live in a unit of the home. Units can be bedrooms or separate apartments or homes. Members usually buy a share, similar to a down payment or up-front rental payment, then continue to pay monthly equity payments. Members’ payments are returned at the time they leave the unit. Members then jointly own the cooperative and make joint policy decisions. Many housing cooperatives are specifically geared towards seniors.
Approaches Met
Develop housing options for seniors to age-in-community
Housing cooperatives can create more affordable and manageable living arrangements within the community.
Facilitate multigenerational and shared housing
Housing cooperatives are a shared housing model.
Keep seniors physically and socially connected
In housing cooperatives seniors contribute to policy decisions, keeping them socially engaged.
Create a range of price options for housing
As housing cooperatives are nonprofit, housing prices are kept low.
Make it Happen
Municipalities can enable cooperatives by ensuring they are permitted in zoning and providing land or financial incentives.
Housing Cooperatives in Practice
The Senior Cooperative Foundation
The Senior Cooperative Foundation helps cooperatives to develop through the provision of education and operation of services.
Beaumont at Bryn Mawr
The Beaumont retirement community is a not-for-profit continuing care cooperative community. The community is owned and governed by residents. Residents purchase their home, paying no entrance fees, and hae equal voting rights in the not-for-profit corporation.
Find Out More
- Cooperative Senior Housing: An Alternative to Meet the Needs of Today's Senior Citizens, MRSC Local Government Success Article on cooperative senior housing.
- Housing Cooperatives General information on housing cooperatives.