Description: Rising rents have been a problem in many areas in Canada, adding one more log on the inflationary fire that Canadians have been experiencing. Housing co-operatives – or co-ops for short – offer an attractive alternative for controlling housing costs, where they are available. Though co-ops have operated in Canada for many years, there has been very little new building under this model since the 1990s. Many of the existing units were built in the 1970s and 1980s, when the rental and home owning options faced a similar crisis.

Date:  March 7, 2022

Source:  cbc.ca

 Link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/co-op-housing-affordability-1.6374412

Discussion points:

1) Are there any co-op apartment units on your campus or in your university town?

2) What can our governments do to encourage the co-op option as a means to reduce the housing crisis?

3) Chapter 11 in Wiley’s Financial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision-Making discusses the shareholders equity section of a balance sheet. How might the equity section of a housing co-operative balance sheet differ from that of a for-profit rental company?