Application letter for cooperatives
Some cooperatives also require a letter of application. Here we show you how it works.
10 Steps to the Perfect Application Letter
If you're interested in a listing for a vacant cooperative apartment in Zurich, you should apply as soon as possible. Make sure you submit all the required documents (our checklist helps with preparation!). An application letter is actually always a good idea, even if it isn't always explicitly required. In it, you can introduce yourself and present your interests, values and personality. That way, the cooperative gets a much better picture of you and can decide whether you're a good fit.
If you need help writing an application letter for a vacant cooperative apartment, you've come to the right place! With our 10 tips, you can make sure your application letter is well received. That improves your chances of landing the cooperative apartment in the end!
By the way: you can use an application letter like this for ‘normal’ apartments too!
1
Preparation is important
Before you write your application letter, it's worth giving a few things some thought. Above all, get to know the cooperative. Study their website. Do you meet all their criteria? (Pay attention to things like children, pets, income, etc.) Does the cooperative have any special features (a vegetable patch, playground, common room, summer party)? You can refer to these in your letter and show exactly why you'd fit in!
Also think about which of your characteristics, hobbies and interests you'd like to highlight. Are you active in a club? Do you often organise events in your neighbourhood? Do you volunteer?
2
Put everything on an A4 page
The cooperative is bound to receive a lot of applications. In our opinion, they don't have time for very long letters. Keep it short and snappy – every sentence should carry important content. The application letter doesn't have to be long. It has to have weight.
Note that opinions differ somewhat on this point. We read that some applicants even submit multi-page dossiers. As a family with two jobs, a child and a household, we currently don't have time for such elaborate projects. But we've described such a dossier for you in point 8. You can decide for yourself whether to submit a snappy one-page A4 letter or a whole folder...
3
Add photo(s)
A picture is worth a thousand words! A nice photo (but please not too posed or edited) can convey your personality wonderfully. Maybe pick a picture that shows you doing a hobby (hiking? gardening?)? Or a lively family photo? It's not about perfection, but about showing who you are.
4
Structure: I – you – we
This structure works for every kind of application letter! I – you – we means: first write a part about yourself, then a paragraph about the cooperative (why it's so great), and finish with how you could get involved in the cooperative.
I→you→we
You'll find an example that still leaves enough room for photo(s) on an A4 page in Section 7.
5
Be authentic
Lies have short legs. You'll very likely have to meet a representative of the cooperative in person and submit various documents. It's not worth telling untruths in an application letter.
6
Have the letter proofread
Often a fresh pair of eyes will catch small mistakes or stylistic slips. Friends or acquaintances can also offer interesting input on your involvement.
“Hey, but you could start a cooperative knitting club!” or “What about your time with the volunteer fire brigade?” Such suggestions can be really valuable, because cooperatives appreciate committed people.
7
Sample application letter
This one is rather short, but it covers all the points and still leaves enough room for a great photo:
Dear members of the Muster cooperative,
We, Musterina (30), Mustermax (34) and Musterbaby (1), are the Muster family from Musterdorf. Musterina works in HR at Muster AG. She's a passionate track and field athlete and competes regularly. She also loves nature and gardening – sadly, she's currently without a garden. Mustermax is an electrician through and through at Muster GmbH. Since his teens he's played football with his friends every weekend, and he also volunteers as coach of the kids' team. We've known each other since secondary school, have been happily married for 4 years, and since last year there are three of us with Musterbaby. As we'd love another child, we're now looking for a cooperative apartment. The Muster cooperative is our first choice. We love the family atmosphere it radiates. The playground looks wonderful – Musterbaby would surely have lots of fun there and make new friends. And the advertised apartment is simply perfect in size and layout. The community garden also appeals to us enormously.
We're very committed people and would love to get involved in the cooperative. Musterina would like to get active in the garden and share her botanical knowledge with the other members. Mustermax would love to kick a ball around with the cooperative's children at the weekend. In short, it would simply be wonderful to become part of the Muster cooperative.
We would be absolutely delighted to arrange a viewing!
Warm regards,
The Muster family
8
Multi-page dossier (Optional)
Some people prefer to submit a whole dossier instead of a short, snappy application letter. It typically consists of the following pages:
1
A cover page with your contact details (and possibly a photo)
2
A short profile where you briefly introduce yourself – with photos and details about you, e.g. job, hobbies, interests
3
A letter of motivation – essentially an extended version of our example. Here you describe why you're looking for an apartment, why the advertised one would be absolutely perfect, and how you fit into the cooperative.
4
References – your current tenancy and your employers
We don't know whether cooperatives value such multi-page dossiers more than a single, well-written letter with nice photos.
9
Software recommendations
You can easily write your letter in a word processor (e.g. Microsoft Word) and simply save it as a text file. For photos and an attractive layout with colours, frames and little icons, we'd recommend Canva. Even the free version is very comprehensive and lets you create great designs with all kinds of graphic elements.
It's best to save the finished document as a PDF – that way recipients can open it reliably. By the way: if you're a little unsure about your wording, we recommend using grammar software or ChatGPT.
10
A few final points
Make sure you meet the criteria for the apartment (number of people, pets, income, etc.) and submit your application in full and on time. Listings often go offline again after just 24 hours.
It's worth having all your documents ready, and also preparing a letter where you only need to change a few things. In other words, you already have the text that always works, and then you only add a few details about the particular cooperative.
Then you copy the text into your layout (Canva, for example), where you already have the photos, and you're done in a flash! So you only have to do the big job with the photos, the nice layout, etc. once. After that, you just adjust the text each time.
Good luck!