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Co-op as affordable housing

The Swiss pioneering a different approach to affordable housing: co-ops.

What if homeownership had no profit motive and no capital gains?

In Switzerland’s member-based cooperative housing, new residents buy shares to gain admission to the building and get one vote in the corporation regardless of how many shares they own. The co-op uses the money to maintain the building, keep rents below market rate and, often, provide communal amenities like child care.

When a resident moves out, their shares are returned at face value. There is no capital gain.

PJH Studios artwork, Portrait of a sun

PJH Studios

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  • Co-op as affordable housing

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