Our Sector

What Is a Co-op?

A Good Place to Call Home

Housing co-ops are in every neighbourhood in the city. A co-op can be a medium size apartment building or townhouses. People who live in co-ops come from every walk of life.

They are people with different backgrounds, varied incomes and sometimes they are people with special needs. These diverse and vibrant communities are the unique strength of housing co-ops.

Co-ops have both market units and subsidized units. Co-ops call units “market units” if the member is paying the full market price. “Subsidized units” are units where the member is paying only a portion of the full market price. The balance of the housing charge is paid by the subsidy program that the co-op works with.

At the present time, subsidized units are very hard to come by because waiting lists are very long.

How Do Co-ops Work?

Co-op housing is member controlled housing. The members who live in a co-op are the ones responsible for running the co-op. Each member has a vote and every year members elect a Board of Directors from the membership.