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@Lady Penelope said:
Jimmy T – I am a bit confused about the terms (1) ‘co-operative housing’ and (2) ‘co housing’ (communal housing). Both appear to be quite different. Are you able to provide a definition of both? Which type are you advocating for?
Not sure about co-housing but I first encountered co-operative housing in Glasgow about 40 years ago and I thought it was a way of renters transitioning to home ownership in a kind of rent-to-buy scheme. It was more like company title in that new residents had to be approved by the incumbents.
As James Brown says in his post, there are many very different models around the world and ours seems to be the least developed in terms of allowing private investment and as a pathway to home ownership.
The NSW model seems to be more about allowing like-minded people who would qualify for housing assistance anyway, band together to make the most of their rented accommodation.
All of this has sent me scurrying off to find out what Housing Co-ops in Scotland do and it seems they provide rented accommodation at rents lower than private rentals but higher than council rents with more responsibility on the tenants and better security of tenure.
I’m not advocating for anything in particular, except a situation where renters and first-time home buyers are treated more like a community and less like a commodity.