Cover of Taking Stock paper.

Taking Stock: Recent Efforts to Create Limited Equity Housing Cooperatives

Zack Lively

This paper examines recent efforts by practitioners to create new limited equity cooperatives (LECs) across several cities in the United States. Amid growing concern over housing affordability, the main objective is to provide a resource for curious practitioners that investigates what these efforts reveal about the potential role of LECs in addressing ongoing housing challenges and how organizations are implementing this model in practice. The findings draw most heavily on interviews with individuals involved in recent LEC projects, as well as conversations with additional practitioners and field experts, comprising twenty-five people in total. Taken together, the findings in this paper highlight how LECs have helped fill gaps for some practitioners while also surfacing the practical considerations those considering an LEC must confront.