Which entity is described as a cooperative housing arrangement?

• A. Cooperative Association (co-op)
• B. Not-for-profit corporation
• C. Sole titleholder
• D. Business trust

Answer: (A)

In a cooperative housing arrangement, residents don’t own individual units outright. Instead, they own shares in a cooperative corporation that owns the building, and those shares grant the right to occupy a specific unit through a proprietary lease or occupancy agreement. That setup is described by a Cooperative Association (co-op). The cooperative is the single legal entity that holds title to the property and is governed by a board elected by the shareholders, with maintenance fees funding operations and mortgage payments of the cooperative as a whole.

This differs from a sole titleholder, where one person or entity holds the title to the entire property; and from a business trust, which uses a trust structure not typical for a residential co-op. While a cooperative can be organized as a not-for-profit corporation, the housing arrangement specifically described by the term is the cooperative association, where occupancy is tied to share ownership and a proprietary lease.