Today’s news / Family members favored in capital’s co-op housing
There are approximately 110,000 cooperative housing units in the municipalities of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg. A mapping shows that family relationships largely pave the way for the purchase of a cooperative housing unit. (Archive photo). Photo: Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix

Family members favored in capital’s co-op housing

In the capital’s housing cooperatives, a significant trend has emerged where relatives are given priority access to co-op apartments, with every sixth occupant having family residing in the same cooperative. This finding comes from a report by the Rockwool Foundation. There are about 110,000 co-op apartments in Copenhagen and Frederiksberg municipalities, offered at prices much lower than equivalent private condominiums. The allocation of these apartments is often controlled by internal or external waiting lists, whose rules are determined by the members of each cooperative. Rasmus Landersø, a research professor at the foundation, refers to the phenomenon as a ‘publicly known secret,’ underscoring its contradiction to the ethos of the co-op model intended to make the housing market more accessible. Curt Liliegreen, Director of the Housing Economic Knowledge Center, also commented on the issue, equating the practice with a type of nepotism.