Applying to a Housing Cooperative: Documents and Process

Applying to a housing cooperative is different from classic renting. At first, it's not about a specific apartment at all — it's about membership in the cooperative itself.

Step 1: first contact and checking admission status

Before you submit any documents, it's worth contacting the cooperative directly. Not every cooperative is currently accepting new members. The Wohnungsbaugenossenschaft VORWÄRTS eG in Berlin, for instance, states openly on its own site that pure membership without a matching apartment isn't possible, and that it currently isn't taking on new members. Other cooperatives, like GWG "Berliner Bär" eG in Köpenick, ask interested applicants to first look into the admission conditions and then book an appointment with the membership department.

Step 2: the usual documents

Even though every cooperative sets its own requirements, certain documents come up again and again in practice:

ID card or passport
Proof of income from the last few months
A SCHUFA credit report
A completed membership application specific to that cooperative
At some cooperatives, a self-disclosure form (Selbstauskunft), similar to what private landlords ask for

For a broader look at whether you'd even qualify before you gather these documents, see our guide on eligibility for a cooperative apartment.

Step 3: the membership application

The actual application follows the cooperative's statutes (Satzung). At VORWÄRTS eG, for example, the number of shares required is tied to the apartment size you want, ranging from six shares for units under 40 square metres up to eleven shares for units over 90 square metres, at 130 euros per share, plus a one-time admission fee.

Step 4: admission and paying for your shares

If your application is accepted, you pay for your shares as set out in the statutes. Only after that are you officially a member and can be placed on a waiting list for a specific apartment. Only one resident per household needs to be formally registered as a member, according to GWG "Berliner Bär" eG.

Step 5: waiting for an apartment offer

Because demand is high, new members typically land on an internal waiting list first, before a concrete apartment offer follows. How long that takes depends heavily on the individual cooperative — our guide to how cooperative waiting lists really work explains what drives the wait.

If you'd like to search the open rental market while you wait, Waitly's apartment search lets you do that in parallel.