What is a Co-housing Community?
As the idea of a loneliness epidemic has become more discussed, it’s clear that many people are yearning for a sense of belonging, togetherness, and community. Co-housing is common in some countries, such as Denmark where it became first popularized. Yet many are unfamiliar with the idea.
Cohousing often takes the form of private homes clustered around shared space. The residences might look the same as a regular neighborhood planned around a park, or it might be an apartment building with shared laundry facilities and exercise room.
Private residences in a co-housing community could be separate units or they could be condominiums. The land could be jointly owned as a cooperative, or owned and managed by a non-profit or for-profit entity such as an HOA. The amount of neighbor interaction will depend on the community agreements and member interests.
Units in a co-housing community may be rented, owned by residents, or a combination. Shared spaces in a co-housing community could be outdoor recreation areas, a community kitchen and dining area, or even an enclosed courtyard between two rows of apartments. It might conform to standard building styles or have unique building elements. It is the “intentional” part that differentiates it from normal neighbor relations.
Co-housing is also an intentional community if it is based on shared values and some extent of shared decision-making. Most co-housing is incorporated as stratas or condominiums, as that is what lending agencies prefer. Another ownership model is a cooperative, which is less common but growing in popularity.
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Steps for buying property with friends for a co-housing community
- Getting informed. You might first spend time at an existing cohousing community. See IC.org/directory (an organization separate from ICmatch.org). You may find a community that is a good fit. If not, it would give you experience for starting your own community. Working with a consultant can give you a head start to help you understand all the options for cohousing.
- Creating your leadership team. When you are ready to build up your co-founder group, ICmatch.org member profiles are designed to help you find others who have the same interests and preferences. Experts recommend your initial planning team be 5 to 8 members. After making a clear plan as co-founders, together you can create a set of solid plans that others who are like-minded can feel confident joining with.
- Joint decision-making. Once you have a group of your desired number of co-founders, based on individual needs and capacity, you may decide to rent, lease, or co-purchase. This recent article in the Times might help you explore what degree of independence versus sharing your group can agree on. Whatever the decisions, gathering a number of committed members with the capacity for lease advance payments or down payments gives you some bargaining power. Fine tune your group decision-making capacity and plan out the details of your housing.
- Land developers and builders. When it’s time to connect with realtors and developers in your area, take a look at the ICmatch.org consultants page to search for a variety of experts, including those who lead sometimes large groups in “participatory design and architecture.” One may be currently building housing that meets your criteria. After you have the funds to negotiate a building contract or a lease agreement, you would also be in a good position to search for small developers who may be willing to meet specific construction requests that match the vision of your group members. If you plan to rent in a new development, this approach could allow you to secure the most desirable location within a planned housing cluster, keeping your group close together.
- Funding assistance. There are many developers interested in creating sustainable housing that includes a few low-income units, both because of their own convictions and the tax breaks offered for specific development types. You may be able to find grants based on the demographics of your group or your shared mission.
- Renting together. Developers of rental housing will be interested in your group as the first move-ins, because the compatibility among you shows staying power. Turnover is costly for managers and investors. Your group cohesion can indicate that they will deal with less turnover, and your group will be motivated to find compatible new members if any existing ones need to leave. Rental managers will also look forward to fewer complaints about neighbors, as you show you can resolve these among yourselves.
- Purchasing land together. Realtors who specialize in larger land deals may be interested in working with your group, but you need to show you have solidarity. Their preference will be to sell to individuals or companies, because they may rightly suspect that internal conflict in a group could dissolve a contract. You will need to do work in advance to convince them of your financial standing and your agreement on a description of acceptable properties. See the Contracts section linked in the footer for a variety of legal structures that might work for your group.
- Accountability structures. You might benefit from creating an HOA. Many people focus on the downside of homeowner’s associations (fees and restrictions) without appreciating the many protections they offer. For example, they may prevent neighbors from devaluing your home by lack of upkeep or accumulation of clutter. HOAs definitely can have downsides, but by helping establish the rules, you can maximize the upsides.
- Attending to relationships. Your next steps will depend on many particulars related to your group’s needs and vision, but be sure to get mentoring along the way. Attending to the relationships among group members, not just the practical aspects, will help you weather many challenges. You may also need to talk to existing neighbors early on to get their initial support. Otherwise you may find your plans blocked by local officials who have been lobbied by some who are suspicious of your group.
Examples
- Historic houses were preserved when sea-side residents pooled their funds, then along with the seller they agreed on how the homes would be used. The group was able to purchase the properties. Otherwise a developer would likely have bought the properties and replaced the homes with new million dollar homes in this desirable location.
- Cohousing.org in the U.S. and cohousing.ca in Canada list hundreds of cohousing communities with a variety of configurations. Some may match the kind of setup you envision. Ask them to consult with you about gaining permits, and other potential challenges that might be unique to your area. You might ask to use their documents as templates that you can revise to fit specific needs.
- Ithaca Ecovillage, a decades old successful intentional community, hosts a farm and works toward being carbon neutral. Its more standard housing appearance and standard wastewater disposal would both work well in suburban areas.
- Winslow Cohousing in Washington is North America’s first resident-developed cohousing group. They discuss the benefits of raising children in community.
Co-housing Community Consultants
ICmatch can connect you with consultants who have deep experience in projects and living environments that thrive on close, sustained cooperation. These professionals are experts at guiding others through the unique opportunities and challenges of living with shared spaces.
The consultants listed below have subscribed to be featured on this page. For even more consultants with interest and expertise in this type of community, visit the consultants page linked in the header.
Members Interested in Co-housing
ICmatch can connect you with communitarians who have similar interests and values. The members listed below have subscribed to be featured on this page. For even more members with interest in this type of community, visit the Match for Free page linked in the header.
Mark Twain Reader
Millennial
Female + male + dependent(s)
Oklahoma
FarmingArtists
Gen X
Female + male + dependent(s)
Spanish Fork, UT
PineTreeDisco
Millennial
Non-binary pair
New Haven, Connecticut
aSparkOfDivinity
Gen Z
Non-binary
Orange County, CA
FancyFox
Gen Z
Male
San Francisco, CA
selfdescriptivewords
Millennial
Female + male + dependent(s)
NY
Taran
Gen Z
Non-binary
USA
VeganFoodForestIntentionalCommunity
Millennial
Male
Gualaquiza, Morona Santiago
FoodForestHeaven
Gen X
Male
Mexico
Resources
- Community Led Housing: A Cohousing Development Approach comes recommended by long-time cohousing developers.
- The Cohousing Handbook is a 291-page complete guide from start to finish of this type of intentional community.
- Colaborative Living Resources shares many useful resources for groups developing their own cohousing.
- Building a Cohousing Community is a concise summary of what it takes to establish cohousing.
- CohoUS, Canadian Cohousing Network, and UK Cohousing Network are great resources for listings and information resources.
- ic.org has listings of established cohousing communities, and resources to learn how to manage them effectively.
- The ICmatch Consultants page lists many who work with groups to establish their legal structures and facilitate decision making. At the end of the page are listings of external consultant groups to help link buyers, sellers, and investors.
- IC Types pages may have additional resources useful for your group.
- Family-focused IC types has resources for those interested in single-parents shared housing or a multi-family shared house, and creating a self-designed schooling environment.
- Cooperatively owned condo or apartment complexes might be supported by government subsidies for affordable housing.