New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-01-04
Cooperative Ownership
A Boon to Home Seekers
Ienant-O Owner Plan Meets With Ponular Favor.
Ohers Protection Against the Rent Booster and
Gives Assurances of Permanent Home

The successful sale of number Of
apartments this fall by the Greensboro
Corporation on the cooperative owner
ship plan and the policy of this corpo-
ration to sell number of buildings
which it Is now erecting on the same
clan Of sale have aroused interest as
to what is meant by the cooperative
ownership plan, and what merit. if
any, has this plan of sale over the
ordinary ownership of multi-family
buildings that has prevailed heretofore
in New York City.
,A-ss Working Of the Plan
The cooperative housing plan of
applied to multi-family houses is
the sale Of the building to the tenants
or to group of people who become
tenants of it. This plan of the Queens
boro Corporation, while worked out in
dependently, has many points of SINH
larity with the so-called copartnership
housing schemes in Great Britain. Sew
eral such enterprises in England have
been started in which the copartners
rent their homes from corporation in
which they are stockholders. In this
way, if they are compelled to move
by reason of change of employment
or otherwise, they can surrender their
homes and move to a new locality, at
the same time holding their stock in
terest in the corporation if they choose,
which pays them a dividend.
The cooperative housing plan of
the Greensboro Corporation is to meet
the needs Of people whose incomes
range from $4,000 to $4,000, and who
seek the comforts of living in apart
ment homes and wish to protect them
selves against excessive increases in
rent.
There are a number of comparatively
owned apartments in Manhattan, but
these have usually been confined to
buildings owned by people Of large
means, who take perpetual leases upon
their apartments, and, when not occu-
plying them, either sublet or pay the
rent themselves. This scheme is not
applicable to people Of modern means
who frequently are compelled to move
because of change of employment and
other reasons and who cannot afford
to assume the responsibility Of possibly
paying rent in two places.
Preventing Deterioration
To meet this situation and at the
same time prevent possible de-
terioration in the tenancy of the build
ing, the lease Of the apartment and the
ownership of the building have been
kept separate in the cooperative owner
ship plan, except that in the first in
stance the tenant and the owner are
the same person. Literally, each tenant
is his own landlord. The equity in any
building above the mortgage, usually
q savings bank or insurance company
mortgage Of long term, is capitalized
by the formation of a corporation tt
take title to the building. The tenant.
owners each subscribe for an amount
Of stock in proportion to the size Of
the apartment which they occupy. In
other words, the tenant of a four-roolr
purchase as much stock as the tenant
The tenant-owner at the same time
that he purchases the stock leases ar
apartment at the current rent, renew
able from year to year indefinitely al
tho will of the tenant, but with the
in any year, he may surrender his
lease the following October /.
Management Of Building
The corporation Of tenant-owners, Of
which each tenant is director, makes
q contract for the management of the
building with some competent real es.
tate agent. In the case Of the Queens
boro Corporation, as it manages ane
owns a great many buildings, the ten.
ant-owners have employed it in this
capacity.
The agent collects the rent, make.
sll the disbursements on account o.
the operation Of the building, and wha1
h left comes back to the stockholders
~ dividend upon their investment
Il will thus be ssen that the tenant.
owners have no burden In connection
with the management Of the building
and arc only required 10 meet once Of
twico . year ~ directors Of tho cor.
poration Of which they are stcckhold,
era to declare q dividend.
Tho bylaws Of the corporation are
framed IN such way that at all times
the market rent Of the building shall
be the rent charged. OF course. Is re-
CARDS the original tenapt-ownsrs, a.
long ~ they occupy the building. they
nro protected by their leases. but the
purpose of the provision 10 require tht
market rent at All times 10 % protec,
tho tQAantr0wnext who ,eeasts q BE- {
eona1o ord eu0a1no Sn&etento4 IN IN