Founding a Wohnungsgenossenschaft costs a group one to two years, a Satzung, a Gründungsprüfung and permanent membership of a Prüfungsverband. Joining an existing co-op skips all of it and still unlocks the same money — kfw-134 explicitly covers “die Beteiligung an einer bestehenden Wohnungsgenossenschaft”, and state Genossenschaftsanteil grants generally follow.
- How it works: the group brings the project; the Dachgenossenschaft buys and owns the building, holds the loans on its balance sheet, and gives the residents a Dauernutzungsvertrag. The group self-manages internally. The co-op’s existing balance sheet and track record are what the bank actually lends against — the single biggest advantage over a new eG with no history.
- Price of entry: members subscribe Geschäftsanteile (each co-op sets the rate, usually scaled by flat size), and most umbrella co-ops expect the group to bring equity and often Direktkredite from its own circle.
- You give up: ownership and final say. The Satzung, the rent-setting rules and the Vorstand of the umbrella co-op bind the project permanently.
Related
- eg-cooperative — what you would otherwise have to found
- kfw-134 — the federal loan that funds shares in an existing co-op too
- genossenschaft-shares — the equity members actually buy
- genossenschaft-pruefungsverband — the obligation you avoid by joining
- syndikat-direktkredit — the supporter money most umbrella co-ops still expect
- de-support-network — advisers who broker introductions to umbrella co-ops
Detail
- Verified examples (2026-09-10):
- Schanze eG, Hamburg — “1987 als Dachgenossenschaft gegründet”, today 26 Häuser with 23 Wohnprojekte; no vacancies at present.
- SoWo Leipzig eG — invites “Gemeinschaftliche Hausprojektgruppen” built on Selbstverwaltung, Solidarität und Eigentumsneutralisierung; membership starts at €100 per share, capped at €50,000 per member, one member one vote.
- SelbstBau eG, Berlin — group projects (Hof Prädikow, Alte Schule Zehdenick, Kuchenkaiser-Haus, Tuntenhaus); states that joining as an individual is currently not possible, which is the norm: these co-ops take projects, not applicants.
- WOGENO München eG — ~30 Liegenschaften; new members are admitted in a narrow annual window (2025: 50 places, portal open 01.–06.03.).
- Bremer Höhe eG, Berlin — ~850 units, but explicitly “können momentan auch keine weiteren Mitglieder in unsere Genossenschaft aufnehmen”. Capacity is the binding constraint, everywhere.
- Open question (not a fact): none of these co-ops publishes a standard intake tariff (€/m² of shares, minimum Eigenkapital, Direktkredit expectation). Terms are negotiated per project — ask early, because the answer decides the whole capital plan.