Types of housing co-ops
- Ownership housing co-operatives
- Tenant Management Organisations (TMOs)
- Self-Build Co-operatives
- Short-life co-operatives
- Tenant-controlled housing associations
Ownership housing co-operatives
Ownership housing co-operatives are co-ops that are owned, managed and controlled democratically by their members & tenants, and usually all tenants are members of the co-op.
The majority of ownership co-ops are (at least partially) funded through a government organisation called the Housing Corporation, who monitor them in the same way as housing associations.
There are also a some ownership co-ops that are set up without public funding, who raise finance through mortgages and 'loan stock'.
There is also a new mutual housing co-operative model that is being developed at the moment for 'key workers' where high property prices have priced them out of the home ownership market. For further information on this model, check the CDS Co-operatives website or contact them on Tel. 0207 397 5700.
Ownership co-ops are traditionally quite small, but they give the greatest amount of control of any of the housing co-op models, and research carried out in 1996 found that they were the most successful housing providers in the country.
Tenant Management Organisations (TMOs)
A tenant management co-operative is a democratic organisation that is formed by tenants to take on the management of their homes. Council tenants have a legal right ('the Right to Manage') and access to specific funding (Section 16 funding) that enables them to set up a co-op. A management co-op has a management agreement with their landlord (the council or housing association, or in some cases, both) and receives a management allowance that enables them to run the co-op.
While there are a growing number of tenant management co-ops in council properties, there are only a few tenant management co-ops in housing association properties, but this does not mean that they can't be set up.
Self-Build Co-operatives
Self-Build co-operatives are housing organisations where the tenants have been involved in the building of the properties. The labour that they put into building the properties gives them a 'sweat equity' (i.e they own a percentage of the property) and they pay rent for the rest.
Short-life co-operatives
Short-life co-operatives, most of which are in London or the South, take over properties that are in some way unlettable, for a fixed period of time, which can sometimes extend for many years. The co-op does not own the properties, but has a lease with the landlord.
Tenant-controlled housing associations
There are a small number of housing associations registered with the Housing Corporation which are tenant controlled, haying a majority of tenants on the board of the association alongside other representatives. There are few hard and fast rules about the make up of the board of housing associations, but some of the tenant-controlled housing associations hold elections for the tenant representatives on the board. Tenant controlled housing associations are often called Community Based Housing Associations (CBHAs), 'community-based' meaning that the organisation is geographically limited to one area.
