Beamten-Wohnungs-Verein Frankfurt am Main
Founded over 100 years ago for civil servants, this housing association is among the oldest cooperatives in Frankfurt, with around 1,500 properties throughout the city. You don’t have to be a civil servant to join.
›› Bornheim, Bornheimer Landwehr 75, Tel. 40 58 06 21, www.bwv-frankfurt.de

Fundament Bauen Wohnen Leben
Young cooperative, still literally “under construction”. Anyone who wants to buy a share for at least € 5,000 can claim a lifetime right to use a property and can even have a say in how construction is to be carried out.
›› Innenstadt, Brücken Str. 55, Tel. 60 60 72 76, www.fundament-eg.org

Lila Luftschloss Frauen-Wohnungsbau-Genossenschaft
Since 1991, the cooperative has offered women-only houses in Bornheim and accommodation in Gutleutviertel at favorable rates, particularly for single mothers and women sharing an apartment. Only women are accepted.
›› Bockenheim, Appelsgasse 12, Tel. 70 19 48
www.lila-luftschloss.de

Volks-Bau- und Sparverein Frankfurt am Main
Cooperative founded in 1900 with over 3,500 accommodation units in 15 areas of Frankfurt and in Steinbach in the Taunus. The portfolio includes everything from single room apartments to family houses; 7,000 members.
›› Innenstadt, Großer Hirschgraben 20-26, Tel. 9 20 71 90, www.vbs-frankfurt.de

Wohnungsbaugenossenschaft in Frankfurt am Main
Founded in Frankfurt in 1950 as a “building cooperative for displaced East German citizens,” today, it’s open to everyone. 600 homes in various parts of Frankfurt, about a quarter of them homes for the socially deprived.
›› Eckenheim, Feuerwehr Str. 4, Tel. 95 42 59 90, www.wbg-ffm.de