All you need is for the state to back up the mortgage. Canada had a vibrant coöp housing creation model from the 70s to 1995. The same Crown corp that backed

All you need is for the state to back up the mortgage. Canada had a vibrant coöp housing creation model from the 70s to 1995. The same Crown corp that backed residential mortgages backed the purchase or construction of a building with a 30-year mortgage, which was paid back by members' housing charges (aka rent). They did add extra general subsidies and there is still an affordable housing subsidy tied to it for those who need it (Rent Geared to Income, where you pay only 30% of your income towards rent), but it could still work quite well without that. Once the mortgage is paid you can reduce housing charges or use the extra capital to renovate/upgrade the building. Equity is never returned to members, they just contribute to cooperative living. Also, members cannot just sell the coöp to profit from increased real estate values; part of the founding charter of the non-profit corporation which manages the coöp says that if it was to disband, the main assets would have to be donated to charity.