Housing Brass Tacks: Limited Equity for Lasting Affordability

Ever-increasing housing costs and displacement pressures have led to a renewed interest in shared-equity housing programs, which have long-term affordability restrictions that make homeownership possible for low- and moderate-income households. One model prominent in New York City for the last 60 years is limited-equity cooperatives, which have below-market purchase prices and limitations on resale profits in order to keep buildings affordable in perpetuity. The state’s Mitchell-Lama program is perhaps the best known example of limited-equity locally, but many other initiatives have helped to make the city the largest community of affordable co-ops in the country. 

Regarding home as shelter rather than commodity, the nonprofit Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB) has worked, building by building, to create resident-controlled limited-equity co-ops since 1973. To date, UHAB has helped to preserve more than 1,600 buildings and create more than 30,000 cooperative apartments. In our 13th Brass Tacks discussion, the organization’s executive director Andrew Reicher will detail the advantages of limited-equity tenure, UHAB’s strategies for assisting residents in developing and managing affordable co-ops, and how the organization’s work has evolved to include tenant organizing and policy advocacy. 

Ample time for conversation will follow Andrew’s presentation. You bring the questions, we’ll supply the experts and the wine.

More info