Those living in cooperative housing in Denmark will be pleased to learn that there is a body that is set up to support and encourage this way of living in Denmark. ABF is the Danish Association of Private and Cooperative Housing and the body are not connected to the Danish government but are there to support the needs and services of those living in cooperative housing in Denmark.

How someone living in a cooperative function most effectively does and who can they turn to when there are problems? Essentially the ABF can offer a lot of help and advice and also motivate any political agenda for you, despite its NGO status. So, what is it like when you buy into and live in a cooperative in Denmark?

Anyone buying a house or an apartment that is within a cooperative housing scheme, it means you will be paying for the right to use that specific house or flat with your payment actually covering a share of the wealth of the cooperative itself. The payment is actually in the form of a deposit and is determined by the current economic status of the cooperative at the time.

Each cooperative has a list of different rules and regulations which members will need to follow and also determine the way the cooperative is run itself. As a member, living in the cooperative, you get a say on your living conditions, your surroundings, the way the cooperative is run and generally you will be part of the team, as it were. If you do not like the way the maintenance of the communal gardens are being kept up or you want the cooperative to hire more economical service men when fixing the boiler or servicing it annually, you can say so and your comments are taken on board by the cooperative at its regular meetings or via a forum online.

When you pay your rent (which is called andelsbolig in Denmark) you will be helping to pay for the interest the cooperative pays on the loans it took out, and your rent will also include expenditures, what some would call service charges or ground rent. There is an audit held every year that determines the current economic plight of the cooperative, which will set the levels of rent or andelsbolig you will eventually pay for that next financial year.

Use these links to find cooperative housing in Copehagen (Andelsboliger):

Bolig.com  Andelsbolig i København – Cooperative housing in Copenhagen

Bolig.com Andelsbolig – Cooperative housing in General

Andelsboligannoncer.dk – For sale by owner site

Andelsbutikken – Cooperativ housing in Copenhagen