The relics of a long life are scattered throughout the nineteenth -century house of Dimitri Russopoulos. The 88 -year -old man has lived in the two -story house since 1972, where he and three other residents pay less than $ 1,000 per month.
“I often travel and people say: ‘Where do you get money to travel?’ I say: ‘Well, I don’t have to pay a mortgage, “he says.
Russopoulos is one of the founders of the largest cooperative development of Canada, the community of Milton Park, in the Montreal Plateau-Mont-Royal district. The Network covers six square blocks, with 616 housing units, 146 residential buildings and two commercial buildings.
Since the members of the cooperative have the property, no one has to worry about being evicted or that the building is sold, provided that the rules follow.
“I have a sense of property, I have a sense of security,” says Russopoulos. “I feel that my enriched personality. I feel healthier in every way, physically and mentally.”
According to the Cooperativa Federation of Housing of Canada (CHF), the forms of social housing, including cooperatives, represent less than four percent of the Canada housing stock.
It may also take years when a cooperative housing unit is available. In Quebec, waiting times can vary from one to two years, according to the Confection Québécoise des cooperrativos d’Hobitation (CQCH).
How do cooperatives work?
In a housing cooperative, members are co -owners and vote on how the building is managed.
In general, housing cooperatives are divided into two categories: non -profit and equity cooperatives. In the latter, buy a part of a building, which can gain value over time.
Non -profit cooperatives are much more common in Canada. In them, it does not create capital; Instead, pay a monthly rate that covers the expenses and maintenance of the building. When you leave, your unit goes to another person. That means that residents can pay significantly under the housing market rate, depending on the city, the province and the structure of the cooperative.
People who live in them say they offer an attractive and low -cost alternative such as the price of renting and buying properties. This is how housing cooperatives work and why we could start listening more about them in Canada.
Chf Canada says there are around 95,000 cooperative housing units in Canada, Most of which developed two generations ago.
“In the seventies and 80 there was a robust federal and provincial investment in a new cooperative housing offer,” explains Tim Ross, executive director of Chf Canada.
“That investment slowed down due to the policy decisions of governments in the 80s and 90s, to reduce first and then eliminate the financing of social housing.”
More government financing
The different levels of government have expanded funds for cooperative housing in recent years. Last year, the Federal Government launched the cooperative housing development program, leaving aside $ 1.5 billion in contributions and loans to build and expand cooperatives.
In a statement, a spokesman for housing, infrastructure and communities in Canada says that the government “recognizes the essential role that non -commercial housing, including cooperative housing, plays in the satisfaction of the housing needs of many Canadians.”
He adds that low -cost loans and forgive loans for new and existing cooperative units are available through the affordable housing fund.
Quebec Ministry of Housing also says that housing cooperatives “are an important model in the Quebec housing supply ecosystem.”
In a statement, a ministry spokesman said the funds are available through a variety of programs, including the Chebec affordable housing program.
Last year, the city of Montreal announced that Sell your land -Neveral, vacancious lots or parking lots-to a balance price if used to build homes outside the market.
QUBEC CQCH He says it is a good start, but far from government investments in the 70s and 80s.
The general director Sandra Turgeon says that if governments take the development of this type of housing seriously, they will have to provide many more funds in the long term. She adds that government programs can be difficult to navigate and tend to favor long data cooperatives on the new ones.
“The cooperative needs to have experience,” she says. “You have to be big to grow.”
Obstacles to start new housing cooperatives
Professor Avi Friedman heads the affordable tribute research group at McGill University. He says that starting a new cooperative can take a long time and complicated. The process begins with the establishment of a cooperative entity and acquire funds.
“A group of people need to meet and if they build their own property, you must hire to find a site and buy the site, get permissions to build, etc. These are processes that are generally very cumbersome and long,” he says.
The CQCH adds that residents will not save so much in newly established cooperatives as those established years ago. Turgeon says that the residents of the new cooperatives will pay closer to the current market rate, except any available government financing. She argues that the process is still worth it.
“We work for the future. Now it is a bit expensive, but it will remain at the same price in future years and its income will increase,” she says.
Ross believes that the best approach is to expand existing housing cooperatives, instead of starting new organizations completely.
“They have a history and balance with which to work, so it creates a more advantageous situation when it comes to a new development,” he says.
Not for everyone
Friedman says that the democratic nature of a cooperative is not something that everyone will find attractive.
“We are of an individualistic nature,” he explains. “People want to own their own property, be suburban. Once they move, there may be problems to get along, how to share things, etc.”
Russopoulos admits that cooperative members can sometimes throw heads, but the meaning of the community makes everything worth it.
“People talk to each other. They know each other of first name and that creates a complete atmosphere in which you feel a great comfort.”
