The right to a home: Spain’s cooperative answer to the housing crisis

Spain's housing crisis has sparked mass protests across the country. In October, it culminated in a call for snap elections which will occur in late November. The final straw was the case of Maricarmen Abascal, who was evicted at the age of 87 from the apartment where she had lived for more than 70 years. She died two weeks later, becoming the face of the fight for the right to housing in Spain and a symbol of a crisis affecting the whole of Europe. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Barcelona has been one of the cities at the heart of the protests, but it is also a hub for the development of an alternative housing model promoted by the non-profit cooperative Sostre Cívic. “Until now, access to housing in Spain has been based on two options: buying or renting. This model is outdated and responsible for the current housing crisis,” explained José Téllez, Sostre Cívic’s Head of Communication. Sostre Cívic has pioneered Spain’s right-to-use model, in which the cooperative owns the property while its members have the permanent right to live in their homes. The model is made possible through a combination of public, cooperative and European funding. Take Ca l’Ordit, in northeastern Barcelona, one of Spain’s largest cooperative housing developments, led by Sostre Cívic. It will provide 62 apartments across ten floors for around 90 low-income residents. Barcelona City Council has provided the land free of charge under a right-to-use agreement, EU NextGeneration funds contribute nearly €3 million and the Council of Europe Development Bank provides low-interest financing. All without profit margins. Thanks to this funding model, Ca l’Ordit’s future residents have had to contribute between €12,000 and €24,000 to secure their homes, far less than the cost of buying a property outright. They will then pay a monthly fee covering services, maintenance and taxes, estimated to be up to 40% lower than market rents. Founded more than 20 years ago and inspired by housing cooperatives in Northern Europe, Sostre Cívic today has over 2,700 members and around 30 projects across Catalonia. Residents have already moved into half of them, accounting for more than 200 apartments. That number is expected to reach 550 over the next three years. On the northern outskirts of Barcelona, around 50 people have been living in an eight-story building called Cirerers since 2022. “My home goes beyond the 45 square metres of my apartment. It also includes several shared spaces and the terrace, places to live and spend time together,”explained 59-year-old Toni Artal, showing us the terrace, with its breathtaking view of Barcelona. Residents become involved long before construction begins. Through monthly meetings and committees, they decide together how to organise shared spaces and activities, preparing to manage the building collectively. At Cirerers, residents have created a ‘library of things’, where they share everyday objects. There are also bicycle and carpentry workshops, as well as a communal kitchen where residents cook together and organise sport and cultural activities. Today an entire generation of Spaniards spends between 50% and 60% of their income on ever-rising rents. And according to Sostre Cívic, the authorities’ response has been contradictory. “More and more local councils are willing to collaborate and develop cooperative housing projects in their municipalities. But over the past four years, Barcelona has allocated public land for just 100 cooperative homes, compared with more than 1,000 rental homes on public land developed in partnership with for-profit companies,” explains José Téllez, Sostre Cívic’s spokesperson. The cooperative housing model will not solve Europe’s housing crisis on its own, but it shows that another way is possible. To become a viable alternative on a larger scale, it needs land, funding and a political commitment: recognising housing as a right.