What is a housing cooperative?

This section looks at the three different types of housing cooperative found in Scotland.

The three distinct types of housing cooperatives (co-ops) are:

• fully mutual

• non fully mutual

• tenant management co-ops.

Fully mutual housing co-ops are a specific type of registered social landlord. They are landlords, rather than managing another landlord's housing stock. The idea behind such co-ops is that tenants would share full control over the management and ownership of the properties in which they are living. However, some fully mutual co-ops are so large that they have had to delegate housing management either to their own paid staff or to another organisation. Tenants will be Scottish secure tenants or, in limited cases, short Scottish secure tenants.

Non fully mutual housing co-ops are landlords, but do not have fully mutual status. The fact that they are co-ops makes them no different from the majority of registered social landlords, as far as applicants and tenants are concerned. Tenants will be Scottish secure tenants or, in limited cases, short Scottish secure tenants.

Tenant management cooperatives are societies or companies formed by tenants that have taken over all or some of the management of the tenants' properties. The properties belong to a local authority that remains the landlord. Tenants will be Scottish secure tenants or, in limited cases, short Scottish secure tenants.