How is home ownership legally structured in cohousing communities?
Although one or two cohousing communities in the U.S. are organized as limited equity cooperatives, most are structured as condominiums or planned unit developments. In what is called the “lot development model,” members jointly own the common property and facilities, and are the sole owners of the lot on which they build their own single family house. Sometimes they own just the land directly under their homes (the footprint), or that plus a small back or front “private” yard. In “retrofit” cohousing, existing buildings are used or renovated so that certain spaces can be used by the whole community for its common activities. The ownership structure varies considerably in retrofit cohousing. Back to top.
Although one or two cohousing communities in the U.S. are organized as limited equity cooperatives, most are structured as condominiums or planned unit developments. In what is called the “lot development model,” members jointly own the common property and facilities, and are the sole owners of the lot on which they build their own single family house. Sometimes they own just the land directly under their homes (the footprint), or that plus a small back or front “private” yard. In “retrofit” cohousing, existing buildings are used or renovated so that certain spaces can be used by the whole community for its common activities. The ownership structure varies considerably in retrofit cohousing. Wolf Creek Commons is structured as a condominium development.
Most cohousing communities are either structured as condominiums (meaning the legal concept, not a physical design) or planned unit developments. In what is called the “lot development model,” members jointly own the common property and facilities and are the sole owners of the lot on which they build their own single family house. Sometimes they own just the land directly under their homes (the footprint) or that plus a small back or front “private” yard. We haven’t decided on our home ownership structure yet.
Although one or two cohousing communities in the U.S. are organized as limited equity cooperatives, most are structured as condominiums or planned unit developments. In what is called the “lot development model,” members jointly own the common property and facilities, and are the sole owners of the lot on which they build their own single family house. Sometimes they own just the land directly under their homes (the footprint), or that plus a small back or front “private” yard. In “retrofit” cohousing, existing buildings are used or renovated so that certain spaces can be used by the whole community for its common activities. The ownership structure varies considerably in retrofit cohousing.
