Although co-operative housing is widespread and has an impact on the quality of life of millions of people, our housing sector is still relatively little-known. This joint report represents a first effort to present the history and the current realities of co-operative housing around the world and to achieve our key task of communicating more effectively the work of our members. A housing co-operative is a housing business that is a consumer co-operative mutually owned by its members, which complies with the International Co-operative Alliance’s (ICA) Statement of Co-operative Identity and operates in accordance with the ICA’s Co-operative Principles and Values. There are different co-operative housing models in different countries, but what characterizes housing co-operatives compared to other housing providers is that they are jointly owned and democratically controlled by their members, according to the principle of “one person, one vote”. This has clear implications for the way they operate compared to other actors on the housing market. Co-operatives benefit not only their members but also the wider public interest. The co-operative housing movement has a long history. The first independent housing co-operatives were formed in the mid-19th century, when Viktor Aimé Huber initiated the construction of several dwellings in Berlin. Many co-operatives which are over 100 years old still exist today and are increasingly widespread in Europe and beyond. In some countries, co-operative housing has been historically, and still remains, an important part of the housing market. For example, housing co-operatives manage over 2,5 million dwellings in Poland, approximately 20% of the total housing stock in the country, 17% in the Czech Republic and Sweden and 15% in Norway. In many others, such as Canada and the United Kingdom the co-operative housing sector is relatively small but is an exemplar of the benefits which flow from resident-member control of housing and the neighbourhoods. On average, 10% of Europeans live in housing co-operatives. They show that living in a housing co-operative provides many advantages in terms of economic, social and environmental sustainability. Housing co-operatives often manage to provide housing at costs that are below the price of a similar home in the open housing market. The reason for this is that the prime objective of housing co-operatives is to provide good quality and affordable housing in the interests of their members, and not to maximize profit for developers or shareholders. At the same time, real estate owned by housing co-operatives or associations is less subject to speculation and represents a long-term investment, which helps keep rents and prices for co-operative housing at relatively low levels. Therefore co-operative housing is important in maintaining more varied and balanced housing markets, and contributes to price stability and affordability.