Assessing the potential of housing cooperatives in providing affordable housing to the urban poor in slums. A Case Study of Kwefako and Banda Bisoboka Housing Cooperatives

Abstract

The need for adequate housing is a basic need that not everyone is able to enjoy because of the large costs that go into private home ownership. The Urban poor are the largest group that suffer the consequences of housing unaffordability forcing them to settle in slums and informal settlements that do not provide long term tenure, opportunities and security for them. The current difficulties in obtaining finance for housing among the urban poor show the need for a housing option that provides a solution to finance that can properly address the housing needs of the urban poor and make housing affordable for them. This study sought to assess the potential of the housing cooperative model to provide affordable housing to the urban poor in slums.

Using the case study research approach this study looked at two housing cooperatives that originated from slum areas and now own homes or are on their way to owning homes using the housing cooperative model. Stage one consisted of carrying out interviews with the chairpersons of the housing co-operatives and an official form the Uganda Housing Cooperative Union to discover more about how housing cooperatives work in the country and what they have achieved so far. Stage two consisted of distributing questionnaires to a sample of the members of the cooperatives to assess how helpful the housing cooperative model has been in providing affordable housing. It was discovered, that the housing cooperative model allows for costs to be shared among the members and that these members achieved much more in a shorter period of time and at a lower cost for each member. It was also discovered that the housing cooperative model enabled one of the cooperatives get aid that helped them obtain comfortable housing faster because of the organized manner of the cooperative structure.

However, further emphasis and research is needed to be put into the model to sensitize the urban poor on how to start and to improve its operations in the country.