‘I’m home’: how co-operative housing could take pressure off Australia’s housing crisis

This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here.

At a time when everything from abolishing negative gearing to capping rents are being suggested as ways to reduce Australia’s housing crisis, little attention has been given to housing co-operatives.

A housing co-op consists of a group of people who share in the management and running of their accommodation. Applicants are have to meet certain criteria, including means testing. Once accepted, they are expected to contribute according to their capacity and ability.

While only a small provider of accommodation in Australia (0.03% of all homes compared to Sweden’s 22%), new research reveals how developing the sector could relieve some of the pressure.

Working with community housing providers and co-operatives across four states and surveying about 300 co-op residents, our research is the first analysis of the operation and impact of Australia’s affordable rental housing co-operatives.

What we found can inform housing policy and choices.

How membership differs to renting or owning

Like all co-ops, housing co-operatives are defined by a “one member, one vote” principle. This means, as both tenants and members, residents have a say in how the organisation runs and how homes are maintained.

This is fundamentally different to renting and owning, providing residents with stability and a greater say in their housing.

Tenant-members can make improvements, decide on policy and make the sorts of connections to their home and community usually thought to only be available to homeowners. As one research participant said:

Even though we don’t own the space, there’s a real sense of belonging to the site, to the property.

In Australia, 184 co-operatives provide 3,732 homes. Another 25 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander co-operatives provide 1,287 homes as their sole purpose or within broader community service delivery.

Although only a small housing contributor in Australia, these nearly 5,000 co-operative homes are a solid base from which the sector can grow.

The cost and management of co-ops

To assess the value of housing co-operatives, we looked at sector costs, tenant-members’ inputs and outcomes.

We found the sector’s costs were similar to those of other types of community housing and that greater tenant-member involvement in managing the co-op lowers overall costs.

Read more: Huge housing costs make us slaves to our jobs and unsustainable growth. But there's another way

Further, tenant-members’ participation in their co-op also develops their skills, leading to other education and employment opportunities.

Tenant-members expressed high levels of satisfaction with their living arrangements, a strong sense of home, solid social bonds, and an improved sense of health and wellbeing. These positives were shared with their children.

Importantly, our study found participants had a strong sense of agency and voice, which is often missing in other housing tenures, especially renting.