Auvitoppen Housing Co-operative, Lier (USBL)
Like many European countries, Norway faced an acute need for housing and reconstruction work after the destruction wrought by the Second World War. At that time, the housing policy’s intention was to provide good housing to all by stimulating homeownership in a non-speculating context. The policy developed a high standard of housing for the vast majority of the population. In Norway around 80% of the population are home owners through individual ownership or co-operative housing, leaving a small rental sector. This rental sector is dominated by private households who rent out part of their home, or a second house or a flat they are not using, for a limited period.
From its foundation in the 1930s, the co-op housing movement was seen as a tool to implement Norway’s social housing policy. In fact, one crucial strategy for implementing the Norwegian housing model was the clear division of responsibilities between key players, namely the “state, the municipalities and the private sector of which the co-op housing movement was the largest single stakeholder”1. Financing mechanisms – such as low cost building sites, subsidised loans and grants – were put in place to meet the housing needs of all. The co-op housing sector built houses on the principle of “selling at cost” and taking no profit.
Over the years, the collaboration between the Government and the co-op housing movement grew closer. The state and the municipalities opted to support the development of housing co-operatives instead of, like other countries, encouraging a large public housing sector. Such political support contributed to the creation of one of the largest and most successful housing co-operative movements in the world.
In the 1980s, a major political shift led the social democratic ideology and state interventionism to be replaced by a more liberalistic agenda based on free market economy and deregulation. Price regulation was abolished in the mid-eighties, subsidised loans and grants from the State Housing Bank were gradually reduced to nothing and municipalities no longer provided building sites.
The overall vision of the Government’s housing policy is that everyone should have adequate and secure housing in a good local environment. A key aspect of Norwegian housing policies has been that everyone should be able to own their own houses or flats.
However, the average Norwegian faces challenges from steep rises in the price of flats. In addition, public financial support is now mainly directed to people on low-incomes or with special needs. There is no financial support in the housing sector in Norway, including the type of buildings created by co-operative housing associations.
Yet, the co-op housing movement in Norway still plays a central role. Although its links with central government and local authorities in the implementation of housing policy are not as strong as they were. Today, housing associations primarily have to succeed in a free market economy with multiple competitors.
Housing co-operatives are present across Norway, representing 40% of the housing market in Oslo. The housing co-op market share is considerably higher in cities than in rural areas.
High-rise,low-rise and terraced houses from the Co-operative Housing Association Sorlandet BBL, Kristiansand (Kjell Inge Soreide)
The main characteristics of Norwegian housing co-operatives are:
- Each property is owned by the co-operative.
- Each co-operative manages an average of 50 homes.
- Members buy shares, usually at full market value, which give them the right to occupy a specific home. (In 2012 the average share cost is approximately 270,000 €).
- Members contribute a proportionate share of operating expenses.
- Shares are normally transferred in the open market at their full market value, but members of co-operative housing associations have the right of pre-emption to a price set in the market.
- Each member has one vote, irrespective of the number or value of shares.
- The board of directors is responsible for the management, often assisted by a co-op housing association acting as a business manager.
- Local authorities have the legal right to buy 10% of the flats in housing co-operatives.
Until the 1990s, most of the co-op housing developments were financed through subsidised grants and loans from the State Housing Bank. Loan subsidies were stopped in the mid-1990s and grants only given to certain types of building project such as student flats or specialist housing for elderly people or those with physical disabilities. From 2002, the housing development financing share of the State Housing Bank began to diminish. By 2007, no more than 10% to 15% of new houses were likely to receive a Government bank loan. Previously, the majority of the houses built were financed through the State Housing Bank. The current situation reflects the average loan conditions and lack of developers’ interest in using the Government bank for the purpose.
Most of the financial support to the housing sector in Norway is channelled through a housing allowance system run by the State Housing Bank in partnership with the municipalities. Through municipalities, the bank offers mortgage loans to individuals who want to buy a home, but for whom private market loan conditions are out of financial reach. About 9,500 such loans were granted in 2010. In Norway, every property buyer has to pay a 2.5% property tax transfer to the state, although the tax does not currently apply to flat transfers within housing co-ops. The question on whether or not to apply this tax to housing co-operatives is currently under discussion.
The Housing Co-operative Laws is a joint name for the Cooperative Housing Association Act and the Housing Co-operatives Act, which received major legislative revisions. The renewed acts came into force in August 2005.
The Co-operative Housing Associations Act
This law sets co-operative housing associations’ organisational rules including their business activities framework. It also regulates their business conduct such as member’s rights concerning participation in the general assembly and board of directors. A cooperative housing association is owned by its members, open to new members and its first mandate is to provide homes for those members. In addition, associations can manage housing co-operatives and other housing companies, for example, condominiums and rental flats etc. A co-operative housing association usually organises new homes for its members in housing co-operatives, but there are no limitations on the association using other organisational models.
The Housing Co-operatives Act
This law sets the co-operatives organisational rules including their business conduct such as the one-member one-vote system, participation in the general assembly, maintenance of their flats, rights of pre-emption, and non-payment of monthly fees. It also contains provisions regulating the shareholder’s responsibilities as a member of the housing co-operative. The last revision clarified shareholders’ rights, including the selling and letting out of their flats, and the security of their investment. The housing co-operative laws in both acts regulate the system for double membership mentioned below.
The Co-operative Housing Movement
The Co-operative Housing Federation of Norway (NBBL) is the nationwide umbrella organisation for housing co-operatives in Norway. NBBL represents, promotes, develops and provides services to housing co-operatives in collaboration with its member housing co-operative associations.
The NBBL is the fourth-largest membership organisation in Norway. The democratic participation in the co-operative housing movement is impressive with 25,000 elected representatives. Its membership includes:
- More than 841,000 individual tenants and non-tenant members.
- 5,000 housing co-operatives, also called primary housing co-operatives.
- 57 co-operative housing associations (also called secondary housing co-operatives) whose membership varies between 100 and 300,000 individual members.
Norwegian housing co-operative bylaws require individuals to be a member of the housing co-operative and the housing co-operatives association. The system also allows individuals to be a member of the co-op housing association without simultaneously being a member of a housing co-operative. By being a member and stakeholder of the association, the individual can in order of seniority buy a new-build home or use the right of pre-emption when buying an existing vacant home in a housing co-operative. Some people keep their membership for the future benefit of their children.
For more information, visit: www.nbbl.no
Members in Norway
Norske Boligbyggelags Landsforbund SA (NBBL) (The Co-operative Housing Federation of Norway)
Resources Tagged "Norway"
This presentation is from a workshop on accessing capital for building new and renovating existing housing co-operatives at ICA's Annual Congress in Antalya, Turkey in November 2014. It provides an overview of the co-operative housing movement in Norway, the different sources of capital and barriers to overcome.Read More
Par cette publication, nous souhaitons ouvrir le débat sur le logement en tant que droit fondamental et enjeu métropolitain, en mettant en lumière l’expérience de grandes métropoles et dans l’espoir d’inspirer des idées nouvelles pour aborder cet enjeu absolument fondamental de l’urbanisation moderne.Read More
The Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments prepared a report showcasing how cities and regions are fostering alternative housing policies to support the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. With increased urbanization, ...Read More
As part of our collaboration with urbaMonde, we would like to highlight this years World Habitat Awards. They tell some fantastic stories of what has been achieved globally to create safe homes where people can live free from t ...Read More
In 2000, United Nations (UN) member states recognised the need to build global partnerships for development and the exchange of expertise as one of the Millennium Development Goals. Across the international development field, part ...Read More
The unsustainable exploitation of our planet’s forests is a major contributor to global warming and threatens the future of humanity. Co-operative Housing International believes that the co-operative family has a role to play to prevent the ongoing degradation of the forests and is calling all co-operatives to support its Sustainable Management Forest Initiative.Read More
New report: The Capital Conundrum for Co-operatives "The Capital Conundrum for Co-operatives", a new report released by the Alliance’s Blue Ribbon Commission explores ideas and options available to co-operatives that need suitab ...Read More
Financing the development of housing co-operatives is a challenge and more so in time of financial restrictions and uncertainty. CHI members discussed the issue during a seminar held in November 2009 in Geneva. Presentations w ...Read More
The ILO views cooperatives as important in improving the living and working conditions of women and men globally as well as making essential infrastructure and services available even in areas neglected by the state and investor-driven enterprises. Cooperatives have a proven record of creating and sustaining employment – they provide over 100 million jobs today; they advance the ILO’s Global Employment Agenda and contribute to promoting decent work.Read More
Updated Guidance Notes on the Co-operative Principles, edited by David Rodgers, former President of Co-operative Housing InternationalRead More
The Forest Products Annual Market Review 2013 reports that the development of new refinement processes has led to the production of new and more affordable wood based products such as cross-laminated timber (CLT). The report sta ...Read More
This first volume includes the co-operative housing profile of 22 countries. This report presents the history and the current realities of co-operative housing around the world. CHI is currently in the process of updating the ...Read More
The purpose of the Governance Test is to provide a means for housing co-ops affiliated to CHI to measure their standards of governance and to help them develop a good governance action plan to improve governance in weaker areas. ...Read More
Student housing cooperatives have become very popular in the USA and many of these housing co-operatives are members of organizations such as NASCO. Unlike a resident who acquires shares at market rates to earn the right to occupy ...Read More
To further our commitment towards sustainable sources of timber and forest products and to provide co-operators more information on the certification programmes and successful sustainable initiatives, CHI organized a seminar on S ...Read More
ICA members adopted a resolution at the 2007 General Assembly calling on the co-operative movement to do its share in combating climate changes. The resolution suggests three ways on how the co-op movement can act now: Measure and ...Read More
As part of CHI's plan to map its activities to the International Co-operative Alliance's Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade, CHI held a seminar on one of the Blueprint elements: Legal Frameworks for Housing Co-operatives. “Co ...Read More
The Good Governance Charter for Housing Co-operatives was launched at the ICA Housing Plenary in Manchester in November 2012.It has three parts:A 10-point set of good governance practicesAn interpretive statement for each good p ...Read More
Seminars about continued public sector investment in co-operative housing in Austria and Canada, innovative funding arrangements created by the co-operative housing sector in Italy and harnessing member investment through co-opera ...Read More
Volume 2 of the Profiles of a Movement concentrates on the African continent. We are pleased to present the remarkable work achieved by the African co-operators, work accomplished in a very challenging environment. These profil ...Read More
The Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade is a worldwide campaign to “take the co-operative way of doing business to a new level”. The five key elements of the Blueprint are participation, sustainability, identity, legal frameworks and capital. The Blueprint is particularly relevant to co-operative housing and the Blueprint interpretation for co-operative housing below explains how.Read More