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Managing Your Business

Housing co-operatives are small businesses formed to provide housing for their members. They prosper best when they are fully occupied and members pay their housing charges in full and on time.

A housing co-op is not a complex business, but it takes work to keep it going. As the steward of your

Protecting the Environment

This world is the only one we have. Investing in sustainability will save your co-op money and protect future generations too.

Check out ideas from the Agency, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada and others that will help reduce your co-op’s

Get Paid

Your co-operative is in the housing business, not the lending business. It has bills to pay and a building to keep up. You should keep this in mind when members don’t pay on time.

If a household doesn’t pay what it owes and moves out, the co-operative is left with a bad debt, which will have to be

A housing co-operative is a democratically controlled association formed to provide housing for its members. The typical Canadian housing co-operative owns houses or apartments and rents them to members for an indefinite period of time on a non-profit basis. When a member moves out, their membership

The Movement Grows

Beginning in 1973, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) actively supported the development of housing co‑operatives under various programs. The federal programs are often identified by the section of the National Housing Act under which they were funded.

Co-operative Housing In Canada

University students were Canada’s pioneers in meeting their need for housing through the co-operative model. In 1936, Campus Co-operative Residence at the University of Toronto began to offer affordable housing for students, who were expected to move out after graduation.

Housing Partners

A co-op member speaks at CHF Canada's annual meeting (2018).

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) is responsible for federal co-operative housing programs and policies. The CMHC website offers research and advice on housing for Canadians. The Agency is pleased to provide services to CMHC

Funding Programs

The original federal co-operative housing programs differ in detail, but all have a similar purpose:

to provide modest, affordable housing that meets the needs of low- and moderate-income Canadians
to encourage families and individuals of different incomes and backgrounds to come together in the same

Province of BC Provides $2 Million to Assist Low-Income Co-op Households

Date

5 December 2016

Up to 300 low-income co-op households will benefit from the BC government’s $2 million in assistance to make their homes more affordable. This funding will bridge the shortfall resulting from expired federal operating agreements.

The provincial funding is intended to support co-ops whose federal

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