City Council approves measure to investigate limited-equity housing cooperatives

Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a measure to explore limited-equity housing cooperatives as a way of addressing the city’s affordable housing crisis.

“I hope we can start delivering some of that type of housing,” said Council President Theresa Kail-Smith, who co-sponsored the legislation. “This would be one of those things that I think would really be helpful.”

Limited-equity housing cooperatives are a kind of collective co-ownership, Councilwoman Deb Gross, who co-sponsored the measure, explained. People invest in a house — though a much smaller amount than a traditional down payment — which they then own part of, along with others who have also invested in the home.

Gross has said that Pittsburgh used to employ this model, but hasn’t emphasized it in a “very long time.”

The legislation approved Tuesday will require the Department of City Planning and the Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections to submit a report that explores the existing regulations for limited-equity housing cooperatives in the city, how many current exist in Pittsburgh, the cost of associated permit fees and policy changes that could help make limited-equity housing cooperatives easier to launch in Pittsburgh.

That report will be sent to City Council by the end of August.

This comes at a time when more than half of city residents are renters and the city is struggling to maintain its population. Housing costs have skyrocketed, while evictions have increased as people are priced out of their rental properties.

The city has tried to address its affordable housing issues by offering more affordable housing options, including for-sale affordable housing in the inclusionary zoning overlay, which recently expanded to include Bloomfield and Polish Hill.