The average cost to rent a three-bedroom home in Sarnia is more than $2,000 per month, but one group of people are paying half that amount or less. These are the members of co-operative housing.
Sarnia is home to four separate co-operative housing communities, but many people are either unaware of their existence or do not know what exactly they are.
“I had no idea this place existed,” says Courtney Paulics, a member of St. Clair Meadows Housing Co-operative on Wellington Street. Three years ago, she and her partner were living in a one-bedroom apartment in downtown Sarnia, had a baby on the way, and wanted to buy a house. Unable to find anything affordable, they heard about the co-op from someone they knew already living there. They currently pay $875 a month for a three-bedroom, two-bath townhouse.
“People drive by and think we are just townhouses like any other,” says Scott Ruston, another member who is also the board president of St. Clair Meadows.
Co-operative housing is secure, affordable, non-profit housing that is controlled by members, not a landlord or corporation. Co-ops are collectively operated by the members who live there. Members are expected to participate in the running and governance of the co-op by attending meetings, voting, working on committees, and serving on the board of directors when elected to that position.
At annual meetings, members vote on their housing charges and make collective financial and organizational decisions for the co-op. They must cover the costs of their mortgage, upkeep, and any other expenses, and may put money aside for larger repairs and improvements, but otherwise cannot make a profit. All of this serves to keep monthly housing charges far lower than market rent for co-op members.
There is, however, a common misconception that co-ops are only for low-income renters. This was the false notion behind the decade-old scandal that arose when it was revealed that NDP politicians Jack Layton and Olivia Chow lived in co-operative housing. While co-ops do provide affordable rent and are able to provide subsidies to members, co-op members come from all walks of life.
Scott Ruston, recently elected as the president of the board of directors at St. Clair Meadows, is the retired president of a multinational corporation. He moved there to care for his father and decided to stay.
The co-op, he says, is “a mixture of people, of socio-economic diversity. We all work together.”
One of the foundational principles of co-operatives is that they are open to all persons willing to accept the responsibilities of membership without gender, social, racial, political, or religious discrimination.
One exception to this would be senior co-ops that restrict eligibility to members over a certain age, such as the Hoskins Housing Co-operative apartments on Victoria Street.
More than providing affordable homes, co-ops provide community. Every co-op member interviewed for this article highlighted this aspect of co-op living as one of the greatest benefits besides the affordable rent.
Sam Parker, coordinator at St. Clair Meadows described how one family moved out when they could afford to buy a home, but soon reapplied for membership as they missed the sense of community that comes with co-op living.
Courtney Paulics serves on the social committee at St. Clair Meadows that organizes events such as barbecues, clean-ups, or seasonal gatherings. This committee, she says, “helps people know their neighbours and feel safe and secure in their community.”
There are many challenges to living co-operatively. In such a close community, one can feel a loss of anonymity or privacy, and feel that everyone knows everyone else’s business.
As well, the democratic process of decision-making is slow and members are not necessarily experts in finance, home maintenance, or property management.
“Maintaining the property, keeping ahead of it, and forecasting expenditures are some of our biggest challenges,” says Scott Ruston. “Our board meets once a month, so it can be hard to get things done.”
Co-ops hire coordinators to manage the administration and day-to-day affairs. Alexander Mackenzie and Faethorne Place on Afton Court have both outsourced their management to Homestarts, a non-profit property management organization. However, the decision-making authority remains with the board of directors and the members of the co-op.
Sarnia’s co-ops, like many co-ops throughout Canada, were built and founded in the 1980s, a period of rapid growth for the sector. Some 125,000 people now live in more than 550 non-profit housing co‑ops across Ontario. Though government investment dried up in the 90s, those co-ops continue to operate, many of them flourishing.
“We are very proud of our co-op,” Scott Ruston says as he takes us on a tour of the well-maintained property of St Clair Meadows. In 2014, the co-op remortgaged and used that money to finance major capital repairs such as the roofing. Attractive, new vinyl fencing stands in stark contrast to somewhat dilapidated wooden fencing of a neighbouring commercial townhouse property.
St. Clair Meadows has 50 units, a mix of two-, three-, and four-bedroom townhouses, with three accessible units. One of these accessible units is dedicated to Community Living of Sarnia/Lambton, highlighting St. Clair Meadows’ commitment to caring for the broader community outside their co-op. The co-op has their own playground, as well as a spacious community centre that can be used for meetings or rented by members for their own private events.
Ruston tells us that there is very low turnover rate at his co-op. One of the co-op's founding members still resides there after nearly 30 years. Children of residents often apply to become members when they come of age. As such the co-op may house multiple generations of the same family in different units.
Participation is essential for a well-run co-op. At St. Clair Meadows, members have to provide at least two hours of community service, beyond attending general meetings, or they must pay an additional fee of $30 a month. Since the pandemic, they have found that introducing virtual and hybrid meetings has boosted attendance and engagement at member meetings.
The federal government recently announced the launch of the $1.5-billion co-operative housing development program they promised in its 2022 budget. This is the largest investment in co-op housing in Canada in 30 years, and the program is expected to build thousands of new affordable co-operative homes by 2028.
The Co-operative Housing Federation (CHF) of Canada’s Executive Director, Tim Ross, says they are optimistic that this program will “kick-start the development of the next generation of co-op housing at a scale that will help solve the housing crisis. Co-op housing is affordable, secure and enables the development of strong, inclusive communities, all of which we need more than ever.”
Sarnia’s existing co-ops have been able to take advantage of other government grants and funding. Faethorne Place used a $4,000 Greener Co-op Microgrant from CHF Canada and support from local Habitat for Humanity volunteers to build a community greenhouse which adds to their existing community garden plots. Alexander Mackenzie is using grants from Lambton County and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to build a new apartment of 20 one-bedroom units on their property. They hope to break ground in the next few years.
Ontario is currently in the midst of a housing crisis. Housing prices and rents have soared since the 90s coincidentally at the same time that our governments stopped investing in building affordable housing. Financialization and speculation treats housing as a commodity rather than a social good. Meanwhile, median wages have not kept pace. Housing is considered unaffordable if 30 per cent or more of the household income is spent on shelter. Right now, in Ontario 36 per cent of renters are spending 31 to 50 per cent of their income on housing expenses while 18 per cent are spending over 50 per cent. Many people have been priced out of housing altogether.
To become a member of a co-op, one must apply and often wait several months, if not years, before a unit becomes available. With the new government funding available, starting a new co-op is also a possibility, whether through building new homes or converting existing properties. The first step is organizing a dedicated group of people with a vision of creating accessible, affordable, and sustainable co-operative housing. CHF Canada has guides and resources for how to start a co-op on its website and can provide answers for those who want to know more.
Co-operative housing comes with certain challenges. Living in a co-op requires a certain amount of community engagement (co-operation, to put it simply) that a lot of us are not used to. However, they also provide secure, affordable housing that is in such short supply in our province.
“Co-ops are a valuable piece of our community,” Scott Ruston says and suggests that having more of them would be a vital step in addressing the current housing crisis.