Jordan Daily – Jordan is turning to housing cooperatives as a sustainable model to ease the country’s mounting housing challenges, amid soaring real estate prices and limited affordable housing options.
Supervised by the Jordan Cooperative Corporation (JCC), the cooperatives aim to provide land ownership opportunities for low-income families while fostering community development and sustainability.
The JCC, which oversees the cooperative sector, works to empower cooperatives by providing training, guidance, and exposure to global best practices. “Jordan continuously learns from global experiences in housing cooperatives to control and overcome housing challenges and impediments facing the cooperatives,” the JCC said.
There are currently 145 housing cooperatives operating in Jordan, mostly concentrated in Amman and Balqa Governorate, according to JCC data. These cooperatives have around 16,957 members, with assets exceeding JD 270 million and over JD 10 million in available cash.
One such example is the Rawabi Housing Cooperative, established in 1991, which secured a 96-dunum plot of land to distribute among members. “This was never available to most members of the General Assembly except through a housing cooperative,” said Rawabi Chairman As’ad Abu Amir, adding that the cooperative also obtained financing through both member contributions and external loans.
Housing cooperatives have helped lower land costs significantly for their members. Ibrahim Al-Qtaishat, chairman of the Ministry of Youth Employees Cooperative, noted that land prices for cooperative members started at JD 6,000, later rising to JD 30,000 after sorting and development. Al-Qtaishat urged citizens to join cooperatives to access affordable land.
Despite these achievements, the cooperatives face numerous challenges. Legal restrictions, management disputes, and high land costs within municipal boundaries continue to impede their operations, forcing cooperatives to purchase land outside official zones and later work to integrate these areas into municipal services.
Internationally, housing cooperatives emerged in the late 19th century and flourished between the 1960s and 1990s, particularly in left-leaning cities like Zurich. The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) remains a major supporter of housing cooperatives, promoting them as social and economic solutions to global housing shortages, especially in remote or densely populated regions.
The ICA also supports Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including poverty eradication, social equality, and environmental protection. Housing cooperatives, it argues, offer affordable housing and foster stronger, more supportive communities than traditional models.
