Business Council of Coops & Mutuals (BCCM) Bunya Fund grant – An affordable rental model for Sydney

Property Collectives Advisory in conjunction with Cohousing Australia are grateful to have received Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM) Bunya Fund grant funding to explore the potential for a new generation of co-operative rental housing in Australian cities.

With members of Sydney CoHousing, our work will focus on the commercial viability of an at cost-rental co-operative for moderate income households (key workers, creative and cultural contributors) in the Sydney metropolitan region.

We will test whether this housing model can address the significant gap between subsidised social and affordable housing and the private rental market.

The grant will let us build on and evolve the work of Andy Fergus, Katherine Sundermann and Alexis Kalagas and their Third Way submission which was a finalist in the City of Sydney Affordable Housing Ideas Challenge in 2020.

The learnings on project economics, commercial structures and financial pathways will inform how replicable this model could be in other regions throughout Australia experiencing acute housing stress.