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Who we are

River City Housing Collective (RCHC) is an independent non-profit corporation. RCHC was formed in 1977 by some people from the University of Iowa's Student Senate as a response to the high prices and low availability of housing in Iowa City at the time.

Currently we own three houses, Anomy, Summit, and Bloom County, all of which are approximately 6 blocks from downtown. Between these three houses, we maintain about 36 members.

Our goal is to provide quality housing for students and community members at a cost below that of the Iowa City market average. Quality housing includes good maintenance, caring landlords (ourselves), and a healthy social environment.

How we work

Cooperatives work because we work together. RCHC keeps our costs low by requiring each member of the collective to do a minimum of sixteen hours of work per month. Eight hours of the work are for the organization and the remaining eight are for the member's specific house. Collective hours include renovation, committee work and Board of Directors meetings. House hours include cleaning, cooking, and house meetings. Sixteen hours per month averages out to about 30 minutes per day.

Community

More important than the economical aspects of co-op living are its advantages as a social and learning experience. Members learn management, cooking, maintenance, and communication skills as well as a sense of living in community/cooperation with a variety of other people.

The strengths of cooperative living come from the cooperative philosophy itself: individuals coming together to have more control over their economic and social environments. Members provide the ideas, guidance, support, and energy to make it work.

In the co-op, one finds many diverse backgrounds, ages, interests, nationalities, and lifestyles drawn together into a community that promotes friendships, greater understanding of others, and an exchange of knowledge. People often join the co-op for the economy, but stay in the co-op for the community.

Membership

Membership in RCHC requires payment of a non-refundable one-time membership fee, which goes to the North American Students of Cooperation (NASCO). Through our membership in NASCO, RCHC is linked to a multitude of housing, food, and other co-ops throughout the U.S. and Canada. NASCO is a great source of information for our co-op and being a part of this network is very useful since it allows the sharing of ideas and resources amongst different co-ops.

Meals

Each house buys food as a unit, saving money with quality and quantity purchases. Nightly, communal meals are served on a regular basis as each member cooks twice per month. The houses strive to accommodate the dietary needs of all their members when buying food and cooking meals.

Rent

RCHC's rents vary, depending upon room size and on such factors as closet space, ceiling heights, outside entrances, bathrooms, and fireplaces. Nevertheless, our rents run at 80% of local market averages. Upon signing a room and membership contract, we require a security deposit of $300. This deposit will be refunded, minus any outstanding debt and compensation for room damage, upon your exit from RCHC.

Equal Opportunity

River City Housing Collective is open to all people regardless of race, creed, color, age, gender, disability, or affectual orientation. RCHC is committed to the elimination of racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia, and any other system of discrimination which denies any person the right to equal consideration based upon their individual character.