The benefits and challenges of co-operative housing

27 March 2024

“Many Australians continue to face intense stress over housing, with affordable rentals non-existent in many cities and regional areas.

Some researchers argue that we need to look to other solutions and one model used more frequently overseas is co-operative housing.

Some 22 percent of housing in Sweden follows this model, but, in Australia, it constitutes less than one percent of housing.

This form of social housing enables tenants to enjoy long-term housing at affordable rents. However, tenants must agree to be involved in the running and upkeep of the property, which can be a source of tension when not everyone pulls their weight.

Guests

Professor Louise Crabtree-Hayes, Professorial Research Fellow at Western Sydney University, author of a report on co-operative housing in Australia

Emma Mitchell, tenant-member in a co-op in the Sydney suburb of Enmore, post-doctoral researcher in sociology”

Western Sydney University report on co-operative housing

Listen to this interview on ABC’s Life Matters