For Immediate Release
June 29, 2021
Contact:
Margaret Miley – Director, Cooperative Business Services
mmiley@cdi.coop
978-973-1200
To celebrate National Home Ownership Month, the Cooperative Development Institute (CDI) released its report– Cooperative Housing Solutions for Massachusetts’ Affordable Housing Crisis. Quality, stable affordable housing in the Commonwealth is increasingly difficult to secure. Cooperative ownership could offer a solution.
In the midst of the COVD-19 pandemic, housing insecurity has gotten more extreme across the United States, especially here in Massachusetts. As of March 1, 2021 almost 216,000 Massachusetts residents were behind on their rent or mortgage payments and unsure of how to pay next month.
In response to this crisis, interest in housing cooperatives is on the rise. One of the most prevalent, successful, and often overlooked forms of housing co-ops in the state are resident owned manufactured housing communities. This model can inform other housing sectors, with the goal of creating a resilient ecosystem of affordability, quality housing.
CDI, a registered Certified Technical Assistance Provider to the ROC USA network has assisted in the conversion of twenty-six large manufactured housing properties into resident owned communities in Massachusetts, securing 3,251 units of affordable housing, representing $144 million in secured financing. In Massachusetts, where residents have the right of first refusal to purchase when their communities go up for sale, over 15% of the entire Manufactured Housing Communities housing market has converted to affordable resident cooperatives.
CDI believes the model can be applied to other sectors of the Massachusetts housing market including multi-family, multi-unit, buildings in urban areas.
“Quality, secure, affordable housing in the Commonwealth is becoming harder and harder to find. The crisis has affected rural, suburban, and urban communities alike. The COVID-19 pandemic has severely exacerbated the situation. We believe that now is the time to look to alternative models that have proven effective, such as cooperative ownership. Given the success of the resident owned community model for manufactured home communities in Massachusetts, assisted by state laws such as the right of first refusal, we urge policy makers to consider additional remedies to make home ownership available in all of our communities, rural, suburban, and urban” , said Margaret Miley, CDI’s Director of Cooperative Business Services program.
CDI recommends that policy makers at all levels of government establish policies to make cooperative ownership a reality for aspiring homeowners. Suggestions include:
Strengthen and expand the Right of First Refusal law in Massachusetts to include multifamily housing. The Tenant Option to Purchase Act (TOPA) allows for municipalities to opt-in to this community-enhancement opportunity.
Provide public investment (bonds, tax incentives, infrastructure improvements) in cooperative conversion and development to restabilize families and communities. This will prevent massive displacement and save on emergency services and rental subsidies.
Support alternative ownership models (land trusts, etc) and regulation (zoning) that offer more options for stable housing and cooperative land ownership
Expand the use of conventional financing for co-op acquisitions – banks, credit unions and other lenders should be incentivized to extend financing to cooperative owners. Lenders can benefit from high repayment rates while residents benefit from more consumer-friendly financial products.
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Read the report: MA Housing Co-op Solutions
