About CHC Authority

Authority was regarded as economic body that is able to manage its own resources by itself.

Word from the Chairman

Co-operative housing represents an important part of the housing market in Egypt. Under the authority of the General Authority for Construction and Housing Cooperatives we promote the continued expansion of the co-operative housing sector as a solution to housing need. The CHC has over fifty-five-year track record in forging innovative partnerships between communities and the public and private sectors. In overseeing a national confederation of housing co-operatives, the CHC recognizes that there are many differing views across the country and the CHC attempts to reach a broad consensus from these views.

Over the past five decade the cooperative housing population in Egypt has increased to reach over 3239 cooperative housing societies over 7 regions under the authority of the CHC. Over the past five decades the authority has facilitated through its own efforts over 2 hundred thousand number of dwellings. and through the societies 1.2 million. In total we have successfully built we have built over 1.4 million dwellings which house over 6 million Egyptians.
Part of our efforts are focused on making housing affordable and available within the new cities as part of the overall effort of the government to provide housing for Egyptians. More information on that national objective is available below.  

Dr. Eng / Hossam El Din Mostafa Rizk
Chairman of the General Authority for Construction and Housing cooperatives.
(Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities)

Cooperative History in Egypt

The co-operative movement in Egypt celebrated its 110th anniversary in 2018. Co-operatives were established as part of the “anti-colonial struggle”. The emerging co-operatives were decentralized, and self-managed structures based on the Raiffeisen and the British industrial and provident society legal framework. The creation of a Registry of co-operatives able to intervene, and secondary and apex organizations were also featuring of the emerging movement. The co-operative movement today consists of five sectors: consumer, agriculture, fishery, housing and production and 18 thousand democratic co-operative organizations. It provides services to 25 million citizens.

The concept of housing co-operatives first appeared in the 1930s with the aim of providing individuals with appropriate dwellings. These initiatives were based on individual initiatives with some State support.

Until the 1950s, at which time rent control laws were implemented, housing was supplied by private developers. The post-revolutionary government (after 1952) was quite active in housing dealing with dramatic housing conditions. The public sector and semi-public agencies which included housing co-operatives played a major role in housing development from this point on. The financing of these developments came from personal and family savings, the General Building and Housing Co-operative Authority (GAHBC), and low-interest loans from the governorates. GAHBC was created in 1954 to assist co-operatives in providing housing to their members.

Housing co-operative development started in Cairo with the first housing co-operative called Al Shamshargy – the Co-operative Association for Housing – established in 1952 in Maadi. Such development expanded to other cities and governorates and by 1953 21 housing co-operatives had been developed (13 in Cairo, 4 in Giza, and others in Sharqyam Daqahlya, Port Said and Assuit).

In Egypt each co-operative sector has its respective law. Before the adoption of a specific housing co-operative law in 1981, housing co-operatives were ruled by the Consumptive Co-operative Law no.109/1975 and were under the supervision of the Central Consumptive Co-operative Association. It was with the adoption of the specific law for housing co-operatives that the housing cooperative sector became independent. Then, internal systems for the primary, joint and united associations as well as the internal system for the Central Union were developed in addition to the implementation of regulations for the sector.

A stronger economy in the second half of the 1970s changed the housing situation. For the two next decades, private developers made important investments. The role of the public sector decreased and became limited to the building of low- and medium-cost units. However, the State assisted greatly the co-operative housing movement though loans dedicated to the co-operative associations (for example in 1991–1992 — 1,2 billion Egyptian pounds) as a result of an increase of co-operatives and membership from 1,660 to almost 2,000 housing co-operatives during the period of 1995–2006.

In 1995–1996 economic reform was implemented to lower the national public budget and reduce the national deficit. This reform reduced drastically the state loans – by 500 million Egyptian pounds in 1995–96. The interest rate for subsidized loans increased from 4% 


What are Cooperatives

Cooperatives are people-centered enterprises jointly owned and democratically controlled by and for their members to realize their common socio-economic needs and aspirations. As enterprises based on values and principles, they put fairness and equality first allowing people to create sustainable enterprises that generate long-term jobs and prosperity. Managed by producers, users or workers, cooperatives are run according to the 'one member, one vote' rule.

Housing Cooperatives – People First!!

Housing Cooperatives around the world take many forms: rental, ownership and co-ownership. Co-ops are controlled by their members who have a vote in decisions about their housing. It is not just another place to stay; it is home

Affordability

Fair decent and affordable price range

Decent place to live 

Members balance their priorities and the cooperatives budget

Security

The management structure of the co-operatives gives members the possibility to address security issues and implement solutions for the benefit of all

Transparency 

Major decisions must receive the approval of the members a good way to ensure efficient and proper management

Commitment towards social goals 

Through the co-operative members become aware of social issues and decide together to act

Personal growth

Housing cooperative members acquire knowledge and skills to deal with finances, buildings and people.

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Towards Sustainability

The Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development adopted by UN Member States in September 2015 in New York set 17 ambitious goals with specific targets with the aim of reaching them until 2030. Among them some are more particularly linked to housing.
In total, about one billion people are involved in cooperatives in some way, either as members/ customers, as employees/participants, or both. Cooperatives employ at least 100 million people worldwide. It has been estimated that the livelihoods of nearly half the world’s population are secured by cooperative enterprises. The world’s 300 largest cooperative enterprises have collective revenues of USD 1.6 trillion, which are comparable to the GDP of the world’s ninth largest economy Spain 

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As value-based and principle driven organizations, cooperative enterprises are by nature a sustainable and participatory form of business. They place emphasis on job security and improved working conditions, pay competitive wages, promote additional income through profit-sharing and distribution of dividends, and support community facilities and services such as health clinics and schools. Cooperatives foster democratic knowledge and practices and social inclusion. They have also shown resilience in the face of the economic and financial crises. 
Hence, cooperatives are well-placed to contribute to sustainable development’s triple bottom line of economic, social and environmental objectives plus the governance agenda, not least because they are enterprises that endeavor to meet the economic progress of members while satisfying their sociocultural interests and protecting the environment. They offer an alternative model for social enterprise, with contributions to sustainable development well beyond job creation. Since cooperatives’ share in GDP and total enterprises is currently relatively small in most countries, their promotion and expansion could be an important instrument for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 
 CHC, whose vision is of an Egypt which provides access to decent and affordable housing for all in communities which are socially, economically and environmentally sustainable and where everyone is enabled to reach their full potential, support the Sustainable Development Goals. Through their very nature and existence CHC already directly contribute to the achievement of a number of goals among them

Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms 
In order to achieve this goal, i.e. to ensure that by 2030, all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, to build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters, investing in affordable housing is crucial. Social, cooperative or public housing organizations provide accommodation below the market level and thus contribute to maintain the purchasing power of low-income families. Through their existence they promote access to markets, minimize costs through joint ownership of assets or risk sharing , advance skills, knowledge and technologies (e.g. leadership, management skills, information on market trends, efficient and sustainable housing building, etc.), improve livelihoods through provision of water, sanitation, electricity, etc. and finally drive investment and development through affordable financial services through loans

Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Housing conditions are directly and indirectly linked to health outcomes, affecting most often the less wealthy and the disadvantaged; and are therefore most often suffered by the more vulnerable population groups. According to a recent report covering the whole European Union (Euro found, 2016), inadequate housing costs EU economies nearly €194 billion per year – in direct costs associated with healthcare and related medical and social services, and indirect costs such as lost productivity and reduced opportunities. This evidence shows that housing is an important public health issue. Safe and healthy housing should therefore be a basic requirement for any society and policies for healthy housing need to be comprehensive and need to involve a wide range of professions. 

Goal 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work
Cooperative enterprises have proven their ability to both create and sustain jobs. Employment in or within the scope of cooperatives concerns at least 279.4 million people in the world, or 9.46 per cent of the employed population. Of these, 27.2 million are directly employed by cooperatives, a substantial portion of the global workforce. Cooperatives can foster economic growth and productive improvement by providing affordable financial services and training opportunities for their members which enable them to make investments, upgrade technologies and diversify their income sources. Cooperatives have great potential to advance decent work through formalization of the informal economy by creating economies of scale, collective voice and negotiation power. They have the potential to create not only quality jobs but also a space for people to pool their resources and skills to create their own economic opportunities 

Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
There is a globally growing demand for a livable and caring city. There are not enough affordable homes available in most of the world to meet the increasing. At the same time, cities are increasingly pushed to cater for those already privileged with the aim to become global cities. Therefore, housing has an essential role to play in making cities places where everyone can reach its full potential. Affordable housing providers contribute to those needs by continuously reducing inequalities and social exclusion by integrating people in a culturally diversified society. 

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Contacts


Address: 3 Samir Abdel Raouf St., end of Makram Ebeid St., Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt
Postal Code: 111762
Email: chc.egypt.Coop@gmail.com
Phone: (+2) 02 22712471
FAX: (+2) 02 22724914
Website: www.chc-eg.org

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