The original and longer version of this article was published by The Media Co-op on June 20 2025.
When Emily Power found out that her landlord was suddenly selling the 21-unit building at 272 Caroline St. in Hamilton, she mobilized to start a tenant association. Power had been living there for just over a year, and she was bracing for a new landlord to push residents out of their rent-controlled homes.
After meeting regularly with other tenants, they began thinking of buying the building themselves and starting a housing co-operative.
A housing co-op is non-market housing that removes the landlord from the equation. Instead, every tenant votes on any changes to the building. Revenues made from rents are used for mortgage payments, repairs, and so on.
But they were up against big real estate investors and had no real roadmap on how to start a co-op.
With the support of local organizations and credit unions, they first secured a $100,000-special loan from the Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation.
Next, because they promised to offer below-market rent for all of the tenants in the building, they could apply for a 50-year, low-interest mortgage.
After about a year of negotiations, they closed on a $4,800,000 sale price with the owner in 2024.
The Caroline Co-op has now shown that rents can be reduced, repairs can be made quickly, and tenants can have freedom from landlords and still live happily. Yet, In Canada, co-operatives represent less than one per cent of the housing stock.
“People should know that they can do this too,” Power says, while also acknowledging it can be a challenging journey.
“It’s empowering for people who live in the building to… see how quickly we can get things done when we actually have control ourselves and have the budget to do so.”
