CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study
Kinnis (2002) defined, co-operative housing as a society that co-operatively owns a group of houses or flats in. which each member participates actively in all matters concerning the estate. Sazama (2000) observes that, cooperative housing is a society where members/residents jointly own their buildings, democratically control them and receive social and economic benefits accruable from living in and owing them co-operatively. Housing co-operative is a pragmatic and cost effective means of home ownership. Victor and Bilyaminu (2002) said that, co-operative housing has been tested in many nations where it has been used, to varying degrees of success and to address housing problems, therefore modifying this concept to suit Nigerians socio-cultural and socio- economic peculiarities will result in renewed hope for the average Nigerian in his quest to attain home ownership as well as reliving him from his poverty trap.
The corporation is membership-based, with membership granted by way of a share purchase in the cooperative. Each shareholder in the legal entity is granted the right to occupy one housing unit. A primary advantage of the housing cooperative is the pooling of the members’ resources so that their buying power is leveraged, thus lowering the cost per member in all the services and products associated with home ownership.
A housing cooperative, is a legal entity, usually a corporation, which owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings; it is one type of housing tenure. Housing cooperatives are a distinctive form of home ownership that have many characteristics that differ from other residential arrangements such as single family home ownership, condominiums and renting.[Retrieved 2 May 2015]
Another key element is that the members, through their elected representatives, screen and select who may live in the cooperative, unlike any other form of home ownership. Housing cooperatives fall into two general tenure categories: non-ownership (referred to as non-equity or continuing) and ownership (referred to as equity or strata). In non-equity cooperatives, occupancy rights are sometimes granted subject to an occupancy agreement, which is similar to a lease. In equity cooperatives, occupancy rights are sometimes granted by way of the purchase agreements and legal instruments registered on the title. The corporation’s articles of incorporation and bylaws as well as occupancy agreement specifies the cooperative’s rules.
The word cooperative is also used to describe a non-share capital co-op model in which fee-paying members obtain the right to occupy a bedroom and share the communal resources of a house that is owned by a cooperative organization.
1.2 Statement of the problem
Due to the significance of cooperative society, the international labour organization has to show the fact that; “in current National Development Plan, various measures are adopted to broaden the productive base of the economy as a strategy to achieving a strong and virile economy, enhance availability of improved technology and extensive services through cooperative society activities.
The above policy statement clearly shows that the status and prominence given currently achieve and enjoyed by this relatively organization in our society is agent of change in the nation economy.
This understanding is therefore, aimed at obtaining and observing the activities of cooperative society in JeromiIfelodun Local Government Lagos State through federal agencies to alleviate poverty, create wealth and ensure food security through cooperative society’s scheme, the problem of ignorance, the formation of cooperative societies in JeromiIfelodun Local Government Lagos prevails hence, the need to research on”.
In the light of these problems, the researcher is therefore boarded and wants to probe into the activities of housing co-operative societies to know whether they are contributing towards the economic development and growth of the country.
The researcher also intends to investigate the impact of housing co-operative societies on economic growth by identifying the above mentioned phenomenon and to know the prospect and problems encounted by housing co-operative so cities in their attempt to develop an improve the economy.
1.3 Research questions
In line, withthestatement of theproblemabove, theresearchwishestoprovideanswerstothefollowingquestionswhich will serve as a guide towards evaluating the contributions of Cooperative Societies (CS) in providing housing finance to their members.
- Does CS have a significant effect in providing housing finance to cooperative members?
- Are the means by which CS secure loans granted to cooperators adequate?
- Are the means by which CS handle loans defaulters adequate?
iv. What is cooperators‟ level of satisfaction on CS compared to NHF?
1.4 Objectives of the study
The main objective of this study is to evaluate the contributions of Cooperative Societies (CS) in providing housing finance to workers inZaria Metropolis. The specific objectives are as follows.
- To evaluate the contributions of Cooperative Societies (CS) in providing housing finance to cooperators.
- To find out how these societies secure loans they disburse to their members.
- To find out how these societies handle loans defaulters.
- To find out the cooperative members level of satisfaction with Cooperative Societies (CS) loan compared to National Housing Fund (NHF).
1.5 Hypotheses of the study
In answering the stated research questions in section 1.4, the following hypotheses are formulated and presented below.
- H01: Cooperative Societies (CS) have no significant effect in providing housing finance to workers of higher institutions in Zaria Metropolis.
- H02: The strategies by which Cooperative Societies (CS) secure loans granted to workers of higher institutions in Zaria Metropolis is not adequate.
- H03: The strategies by which Cooperative Societies (CS) handle loans defaulters is not adequate.
- H04: Cooperators‟ level of satisfaction on CS loan compared to National Housing Fund (NHF) is low.
