Non-Profit Rental Housing Co-operatives
The most common type of housing co-operative in BC is the non-profit (rental) co-op. At the start of 2021,, there were over 260 located across the province, most in the lower mainland (~60%) and in the Victoria area of Vancouver Island (~14%). Non-profit housing co-ops offer roughly 15,000 homes to their members, from studio apartments to five-bedroom townhouses.
Co-op members are not renters under the province’s Residential Tenancy Act, and members have more control over their housing than typical renters enjoy. Each co-op member has a vote and can elect (or run for) the co-op’s board of directors, which oversees the co-op’s governance.
Co-op members also have security of tenure, and are able to remain in their homes as long as they pay their housing charges and abide by the co-op rules (which they themselves help set). “Housing charges” are the equivalent of rent or maintenance fees, and are usually based on debt repayments, maintenance costs and other expenses the co-op has to cover in order to break even. This class of co-op is typically more affordable than equivalent purpose-built rental accommodation, in part, because the co-ops run on a not-for-profit basis.
To become members, potential co-op residents must purchase shares in the co-op. This purchase of shares typically costs between one and five thousand dollars (but some resident-funded non-profit co-ops have shares that cost more than $100,000). When a member decides to leave a co-op (and after giving appropriate notice), the member will return the shares to the co-op and the co-op will return the money used to buy the shares. The shares do not earn interest. Co-ops of this kind aim to provide stable, safe housing at a fair price to their members, but they do not provide any kind of investment opportunity.
BC’s housing co-operatives are supported by two federations: the Co-operative Housing Federation of BC and the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada. Something like 95% of non-profit housing co-operatives are members of one or both federations.
BC’s rental co-ops are mixed-income communities and independent businesses. Co-ops are not public housing, and do not exclusively offer accommodation to means-tested, low-income British Columbians. That said, in BC, as in most of Canada, the creation of non-profit housing co-operatives was generally assisted by government. Support may have included favourable mortgage terms through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC); provision by municipalities of leased land at low cost; or on-going financial support (through operating agreements) to allow co-ops to subsidize some members, making housing charges more affordable.
This last point can lead to some misunderstandings. The agreements that most co-ops concluded with government do oblige them to offer discounted housing charges to some members (typically between 10% and 30% of the homes, but sometimes more). In the absence of such operating agreements, co-ops can decide for themselves whether to offer discounted housing charges. Regardless, the majority of co-op residents are not recipients of direct government subsidies.