Yvonne doesn’t own her home. This housing alternative means she never worries about rent

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Key Points

Co-ops, made up of members, own the right to a collection of homes, which often, are co-located.
Without a landlord making a profit, rents only need to cover the cost of maintaining the housing.
Co-op housing rent is more affordable than open market rent and can be set at a percentage of income.

Yvonne Jenkins does not own the house she has lived in for the past 24 years, but she has not worried about her rent drastically increasing or being forced to move out at short notice.

At a time when a shortage of homes is and for many people, in certain ways, she is cocooned from Australia’s housing crisis.

This is because she is part of a co-operative housing arrangement.

Co-ops as a business model

Co-ops, made up of members, own the right to a collection of homes which are often co-located.

A co-op is a business model, but according to Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals senior policy adviser Linda Seaborn, they operate differently to most of Australia’s real estate market.

Some co-operative housing is co-located on the same site, while others can be a collection of dwellings scattered throughout a suburb or area. Source: Supplied / Cohousing Cooperative

“A housing co-operative is made up of the people that live in the housing, but the actual ownership of the property can vary,” Seaborn said.

“The members own the co-op, but the co-op might not own the houses, the co-op might rent the houses from the government or from a community housing provider, and then their members live in the houses or the co-op might jointly own the houses or the co-op might outright own the houses.”

According to Western Sydney University, rental housing co-ops make up just 0.03 per cent of all housing in Australia and 3.43 per cent of community housing in the country.

How much does co-op renting cost?

Jenkins is part of Bellinger River and Neighbourhood Cooperative Housing (BRANCH) in Bellingen, NSW, which is made up of nine dwellings scattered around the town.

She said buying a home was never a priority for her.

“I was a young person at a time when renting wasn’t a problem. We just rented, like there was always enough properties available,” the 81-year-old said.

“I didn’t ever imagine that it would become difficult and that renting would be as it is now, incredibly expensive and difficult to find.”

Jenkins and her partner each pay 25 per cent of their incomes as rent, for their two-bedroom, double brick home, which she said equates to about $350 or $400 a week.

A woman and baby looking at chickens in a coop.

Every housing co-op looks different but many have shared facilities such as gardens and communal spaces. Source: Getty / Houston Chronicle

Seaborn said while rent may be calculated differently depending on the co-op, the housing alternative provided rent below market value.

“In places like Melbourne and Sydney, it has been worked out to be about 90 per cent of market rate rent and it goes down over time,” she said.

“Research looking at Europe, where a similar thing is done, has found because the housing is run at cost — so, there’s not a landlord who owns it taking a profit out of it — it’s just the cost to run the housing.

“So over time, your housing cost becomes less and less, as a proportion of market rate, and becomes more affordable over time.”

Seaborn said those co-ops backed by government funding had their own way of calculating rent.

“Those that have had government investment generally have a limit on rent, which is usually 75 to 80 per cent of market rent,” she said.

“And often, it’s also a percentage of people’s income, so no more than 25 or 30 per cent of their income.”

Active participation is required

Each housing co-op has a board, which is responsible for ensuring smooth operation, including the maintenance of properties.

They require active participation from their members, and even those who do not take up board positions are expected to be part of setting policies and making decisions by attending meetings and keeping abreast of co-op matters.

A view from above of six people meeting around a table.

People have to be members to live in co-operative housing and take part in making decisions around the maintenance and operation of the dwellings. Source: Supplied / Co-housing Cooperative

One of the main principles of co-op housing is democratic member control, so everyone gets an equal vote on matters.

Members may also be required to spend time maintaining shared facilities as well as the dwellings.

Part of a community

As well as working in the sector, Seaborn is also part of a co-op in Tasmania.

“The one that I’m in is actually designed as a co-housing village and we’ve got a common house with a laundry and guest flat and a big kitchen and we eat together a couple of times a week,” she said.

A blonde woman in a light pink jumper smiling at the camera.

Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals senior policy adviser Linda Seaborn not only works in the sector that deals with co-op housing but she lives in a co-housing village herself. Source: Supplied

She has been part of the co-op for 23 years and saw it as an affordable and secure option for housing.

“I really liked the village aspect of it and having that sort of social side of things. I was a single mother [when I first moved in] with a child and it was a really good way for both of us to have more social contact,” Seaborn said.

Jenkins said the co-op she is part of also often attracts single women and mothers.

She is the oldest person in her co-op, and the youngest is six years old.

Yvonne Jenkins and her partner each pay 25 per cent of their income as rent for their property. Source: Supplied

A report by Western Sydney University released earlier this year found co-op housing delivers affordable housing at a comparative cost to other forms of community housing as well as providing other societal benefits.

It listed feeling safe, a positive impact on mental health, a strong sense of community and wellbeing among the benefits of co-op living.

Jenkins said working toward a common goal required a great level of respect between members.

“I just think it’s a really supportive way for people to live,” she said.

A ‘nest rather than a nest egg’

Seaborn said she believes the way the property market in Australia operates is not serving the whole of society.

“We are treating housing as an investment rather than a home and we’re causing people to be homeless because it’s not profitable for somebody else’s investment,” she said.

“What our housing system is generating at the moment is showing us that something is really wrong with it, I think it falls into the category of human rights abuse.”

About 10 people gathered at the entry to a multi level apartment complex.

Housing co-ops can be found across Australia. This one is in Erskinville, NSW. Source: Supplied / Co-housing Cooperative

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has ruled out changes to property-related tax breaks, , and the Opposition has said the Coalition would not support changes to these measures.

Significant investment in rental housing co-operatives occurred in the 1980s and 1990s through the Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement’s Community Housing Program.

While the states currently take responsibility for housing matters, the federal government remains responsible for setting policies that shape housing affordability.

SBS asked the Housing and Homelessness Minister Julie Collins about the potential for additional co-op housing in Australia.

She said such initiatives “deliver security of tenure as well as community connection for their members”, but did not indicate whether the federal government would support state governments to be able to deliver and facilitate more housing of this nature.

She referred to the government’s $32 billion Homes for Australia plan focused on building more homes.

“This includes the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund, the single biggest investment in social and affordable rental housing in more than a decade, and the $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator. ”

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