Governing and managing a thriving housing co-op can be challenging and complicated. CHF BC is here to help. We offer a robust education program and extensive online resources for our members to use in their own time.
Access to our online resources is restricted to CHF BC members. You will need a member account to login to the members’ only pages — find out how here.
This list was last updated July 2024.
ARC isn’t a typical resource, but a program designed to help co-ops talk about important issues, clearly establish a vision for the future, engage their memberships and set out an implementation plan. The ARC program focuses on building strong community connections and preparing co-ops to handle challenges now, and in the future. Together, your co-op and the ARC team will define what matters most to members and then, work towards a more cohesive planning approach. To learn more about this program, please visit the ARC website or email arc@chf.bc.ca.
We offer tools such as sample agendas, minute taking templates as well as an overview section that covers general information about meeting notice, quorum, ordinary and special resolutions etc.
Meetings are the foundation of your housing co-op’s democratic governance structure, which means that everyone should have an equal opportunity to productively take part. This, along with legal requirements set out in the Cooperative Association Act and your Rules, means that you will want to pay careful attention to how your meetings are organized and run.
Our Model Rules are written with the best legal advice and offer a bold new standard in housing co-op governance.
These Rules are full of fresh ideas and best practices to address the current day needs of your business and community. With a simple step-by-step process and complete set of online tools and resources, you can make the process of updating your Rules and Occupancy Agreement as easy as it can be!
The Rules are fully compliant with the Cooperative Association Act and other acts of legislation.
Your housing co-op must comply with the provincial Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) which includes having a PIPA policy and a designated PIP Officer.
We are pleased to provide a dozen regularly-updated PIPA tools to help you ensure your housing co-op is in compliance. These include a PIPA checklist, a sample PIPA policy, PIP Officer job description, a new member application form and a complaints form.
The Guide to the Co-op Act will help you understand and comply with the Cooperative Association Act (the Co-op Act).
All housing co-ops in BC are incorporated under the Co-op Act. Your co-op’s governing documents must comply with this legislation. This easy to use 50-page guide has sections on membership, shares and mortgages, directors, meetings, voting, auditors and records, registers and filings.
Regularly reviewed and vetted to ensure current best practice, sample policies, procedures, job descriptions (for various committees and roles) and forms are available as templates to be adapted for use at your co-op. Guidance documents complete the full set of support materials.
With 55 individual templates and guidance documents within the areas of housing co-op board and governance, finance, maintenance, membership and community there is no need for you to reinvent the wheel.
Only for CHF BC members, you will need to be logged in to review the resources here.
CHF Canada’s 2020 Vision certification program is finished, but several of the resources that came out of that program remain valuable, looking at general principles, good governance and sound management.
CHF BC members can access the three core guides and other materials: