At Sustainable Economies Law Center, many people have asked us for help starting a Permanent Real Estate Cooperative (PREC), so we’ve gathered some thoughts and resources here as a starting point.

We’re not trying to create a definitive guide to Permanent Real Estate Cooperatives (PREC). And this Guide will likely always be a work in progress. As we work with PRECs and similar organizations in years to come, we imagine our thoughts on many things below could continue to evolve. In fact, even those of us involved in creating the first PREC, the East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative (EB PREC), could deliberate endlessly about what we’d want to share with the world about this massive undertaking.

We’re writing from the perspective of a PREC’s legal team, which is just one angle from which to view PRECs. The staff and members of EB PREC, for example, could offer countless other angles – how to shape culture, craft communications, organize communities, manage workplaces, and so much more. In fact, we think those angles are far more important to the vitality of a PREC. 

That said, we’ll share some key principles and considerations that have shaped the legal, financial, and governance structures of a PREC. We hope that you benefit from what’s here and enjoy the adventure you may be embarking on.