​What is Co-operative Housing?

​Housing co-ops are made up of people who form an association and work together to provide safe, secure and affordable homes for their members. Members purchase a share to join and elect a board directors to govern the co-op. The board of directors are volunteers who have a legal obligation to act honestly, in good faith, and in the best interests of the co-op.

​Co-op members pay monthly rents called ‘housing charges’. While in a co-op, members can live in their home as they wish if they follow the rules of the co-op and pay their housing charges on time. 
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CLT is creating a new kind of housing co-op, in that we combine the benefits of co-op living with professional real estate development (to build new co-ops) and property management services (including things like landscaping, repairs and building maintenance on behalf of a housing co-op).

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What is Community Land Trust (CLT)?

​Community Land Trust (CLT) is a social purpose real estate developer that helps to create permanently affordable housing solutions for people, with a focus on co-operative housing. Established by the Co-operative Housing Federation of BC (CHF BC ) in 2015, CLT is owned by BC’s co-operative housing sector and is a member of the CHF BC group of social enterprises. The CLT is overseen by a board elected from the members of CHF BC and is guided by CHF BC’s vision: to grow an inclusive community of sustainable and permanently affordable co-operative housing.

CLT’s first properties were originally owned by the Province of BC and CMHC, and were transferred to CLT in trust. In 2014, a groundbreaking partnership with the City of Vancouver was the catalyst for our growth and expansion, providing the scale we needed to create new housing opportunities for people, and employ new and innovative strategies for housing development.

Today, CLT helps drive growth in the non-market and community housing sector by building new housing co-ops, preserving and redeveloping existing co-ops, and leveraging the value of our portfolio to build more housing. We also serve the broader community housing sector by expanding opportunities for co-op and non-profit housing.
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Our strength is in our portfolio of properties, which gives us the resources and scale to be an influential and meaningful player in the housing sector in BC.