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A co-op ownership of a building typically is not seeking to profit from the tenants in the building. They may charge fees to cover the maintenance and upkeep of the building and sustain their administration. Some condos operate similarly -- everyone buying a condo, with minimal fees paid to the developer to cover the maintenance of the building, with the developer making the bulk of their income from the sale of the units.

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I'm not sure that's true. I'm a big proponent of co-ops, for housing and other endeavors, but co-ops can seek to make a profit. Not in the sense of a return to investors or owners, but they may have other objectives in mind. The co-op owned apartment building May seek to purchase an additional building for example, and charge tenants more than the cost of maintenance.

For sure. Hence "typically". In the usual case, the coop is designed to be operated by the tenants, who are not operating it as a profit seeking venture and it's run democratically. It's not impossible that what you say is also true -- I'm sure there are housing coops that are run as you describe.

I guess I'm debating which is more typical.

Most coops I know are part of a system with aspirations to expand.

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