FAQ

Cohousing communities are collaborative neighbourhoods created with a measure of ingenuity. They bring together the value of having private homes, with the benefits of more sustainable living. Residents actively participate in the design and operation of their neighbourhoods. They share common facilities and build and maintain good connections with neighbours. Cohousing provides innovative and sustainable answers to today's environmental and social challenges.

By collaborating with architect Charles Durrett (McCamant & Durrett Architects), the Vancouver Cohousing group participated in the planning and design of their own housing development. The Vancouver Cohousing community is supported and sustained by five core principles: collaborative and participatory processes, an architectural design that supports community, private homes supplemented by common facilities, resident-managed facilities, and non-hierarchical structures.

In the late 1960s, a group of Danish families, dissatisfied with existing urban and suburban living options, decided to create their own resident-developed neighbourhood — an alternative to traditional housing models. Desiring a community where residents knew their neighbours and looked out for each other, they created bofoellesskaber, literally "living communities."

Cohousing was introduced in North America in the 1980s by architects Charles Durrett and Katherine McCamant, who coined the term to describe this style of development. There are now more than 14 completed cohousing communities in Canada, with another 5 in process, and the United States has 150 complete and about 140 in various stages of planning and development.

Members of the Vancouver Cohousing group include many people who have thought about the idea of creating community long before they ever heard the term "cohousing." Our members seek to improve their quality of life, and are interested in and care for their larger community. Vancouver Cohousing residents think globally and act locally.

Cohousing is for people who want to live in closer proximity to their neighbours for increased interaction, support, and a sense of belonging. The Vancouver Cohousing community has created a multi-generational community that enables meaningful connection and relationships, allows space for authentic expression, encourages personal growth, and generates a sense of safety and belonging.

Families who resonate with this sense of purpose find themselves at home within the Vancouver Cohousing community.

We include and welcome those with a variety of beliefs and cultural origins. Our community is diverse in age, background, and family type. Our emphasis is on quality of life, including the nurture of children, youth, and elders. There is no social agenda beyond creating a friendly neighbourhood where all residents feel accepted and comfortable.

Almost all of our 31 homes are privately owned; 2 are rental units. Although the method of ownership in cohousing can vary, it is most common to use the strata title ownership structure, similar to most condominiums across Vancouver. In this model, each household owns its own home, plus a share of the common facilities and spaces. This ownership model is quite simple and straightforward, and therefore makes it easier to finance.

As with any other privately owned home, a member who wishes to sell needs to find a buyer. Because of the collaborative nature of cohousing, opportunities exist for promoting cohousing in ways beyond the traditional real estate marketing methods — and there is always a waiting list of interested buyers!

Members value a balance of privacy as well as social contact. It's important to members to have their own homes and private space — for example, we signal a need for privacy by keeping our blinds down, and then no one knocks! A unique aspect of cohousing is that the citizen-developers participate in creating a community that reflects their values.

There can actually be more privacy in cohousing because the amenity areas provide meeting places, play areas, guest rooms, and work spaces, while the individual dwelling remains a place of privacy and retreat.

The property is currently owned by Cedar Cottage Cohousing Corporation, a legal company entirely owned and operated by all of the members of Vancouver Cohousing. The common house is jointly owned by all strata owners. It is a hub for activities of residents, and often includes friends and neighbours beyond Vancouver Cohousing in events, meetings, activities, and celebrations.

Residents of the Vancouver Cohousing community have access to all of its shared facilities. These include a well-equipped kitchen for quantity food production, a dining room, lounge, craft room, a yoga room, business center, 2 guest bedrooms, bike storage, workshop, parking, and rooms for children and youth.

These shared facilities support and sustain connection by supplementing individual dwellings with shared amenities that were chosen and designed with resident participation.

Every home is self-sufficient with its own kitchen. Beyond this, the common house kitchen and dining room allow optional attendance at 3 dinners and 1 brunch every week, in addition to other shared meals and celebrations. Meals are prepared by a team of 3 community members, and another 3 share in the cleanup — it works out that each adult cooks once every 3 weeks and cleans up once every 3 weeks.

Shared meals are an important aspect of community life for social and practical reasons, but are always optional.

Members work together to organize upkeep. Monthly strata maintenance fees cover ongoing costs, and regular meetings facilitate the running of the community. Members take part in one or more teams of their choice, managing finances, facilitating meetings, caring for the outdoors and landscaping, maintaining and cleaning the building, and arranging social events. There is no set amount of time required.

Everyone needn't attend every meeting. It is recognized that meetings provide opportunities to work together, define needs, and make decisions. Attendance at meetings is a prerequisite for having a voice in the community.

Not a co-op: In co-ops, the cooperative owns the unit and members purchase shares. In cohousing, individual households purchase their own units, or rent from members of the community.

Not a dorm: Each private home has its own living, dining, and sleeping areas, along with a fully equipped kitchen and bathroom.

Not a gated community: Cohousing communities are the opposite — open, welcoming, and connected with the surrounding community. They focus on sustainable living, mutual support, and inclusion. There are gates for the safety of young children, but the spirit is always one of openness.

As with other close friends and well-known neighbours, people help each other in informal ways. Members provide friendship and support in times of need, but are not primary caregivers for others' needs. Any particular, ongoing care for individuals would be arranged privately.