Tenants Take Over: The Story of Caroline Co-op

When their landlord put their 21-unit apartment building up for sale, the tenants of 272 Caroline St S, Hamilton banded together to form a tenant association. Fearing rent hikes or renovictions under a new landlord, the tenants organized to have each others’ backs and eventually fundraised to convert the building into a non-profit housing co-operative. With financial support from municipal and philanthropic partners, the tenants purchased the building in 2024. Tenants Take Over tells the story of the tenant association’s campaign, including the process of organizing as a group, thwarting potential buyers, negotiating the purchase price and repairs to the building with their landlord, fundraising for the down payment and qualifying for the mortgage, and establishing the day-to-day operations through a volunteer board of directors and committees. Tenants Take Over provides a blueprint for other tenant groups wanting to take action when faced with a similar situation of housing uncertainty. This story demonstrates what is possible when working-class people take control of our homes: improved housing conditions, deepened affordability, real community. The documentary features interviews with some of the founding members of Caroline Co-op (Emily, Francesca, Jacob, Jim, Keisha, Marie, William) and the Co-op’s partners and supporters, including Doug Sider (Golden Horseshoe Co-operative Housing Federation), Caroline Chapman and Amina Dibe (Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada), Cameron Kroetsch (Ward 2 Councillor, City of Hamilton), Steve DiManno (First Ontario Credit Union), Huda Al-Asad (New Market Funds), and Jessica Cabana (Communauté Milton Parc). Filming and editing by Coopérative de Technologie et de Communication de Montréal (Co-op TCM). For more information: https://carolinecooperative.com ©2025 Caroline Co-o & Co-op TCM