Housing co-operatives: The lived experience in an alternative housing sector

Affordable housing has been the subject of much public and policy debate in Australia. Housing co-operatives are an extremely small contributor in the low to moderate income housing sector and comparatively little research has been undertaken on them. In Australia, housing co-operatives are usually associated with public housing. This paper investigates the lived experiences of residents in eight housing co-operatives, four in Australia and two each in the United States and Canada. Thirty-eight interviews were undertaken with residents in order to gain insights into the tenure and a further six with key informants. Research was also undertaken in the U.S. and Canada because these countries have long-established housing co-operative sectors which may provide valuable lessons, transferable models and suggestions for alternative methods of funding. These preliminary findings are presented through the lens of residential satisfaction, self-selection processes and ontological security. Barriers to the formation of housing co-operatives in Australia are also identified and alternative models proposed.