The text, with votes in favor from all groups with the only abstention from Junts and the PP, and votes against from VOX, urges the Spanish Congress to promote projects with public support in the form of regulatory improvements, financing and land transfer.

The proposal adds to the institutional recognition received in the Parliament of Catalonia in May 2022

Madrid, February 18, 2025— The Congress of Deputies approved this morning for the first time a proposal to promote and recognize cooperative housing in right of use throughout the state. The approved text reinforces the role of this model as an affordable, non-speculative alternative committed to sustainability and the social and solidarity economy.

The NLP has been presented by the Socialist Group at the initiative of the REAS housing working group Red de Redes, who presented his proposal to all the groups in the chamber during the month of November. The text has been debated and approved in the Housing and Urban Agenda Committee of the Congress of Deputies, where it received 18 votes in favor from the PSOE, Sumar, ERC, Bildu and PNV groups, the abstention of the 15 PP and Junts deputies, and the only votes against from VOX deputies.

The resolution urges the Government to develop a strategy to support housing cooperatives in right of use in coordination with all competent administrations. Key measures included in the resolution include:

• The recognition of the cooperative model in right of use as a non-speculative way of accessing housing, which contributes to expanding the social and affordable housing stock.
• The creation of a specific public policy to promote and support housing cooperatives in right of use, articulated in a transversal manner by the different ministries.
• The transfer of public land as a key tool for the development of these projects.
• Improving the regulatory framework to facilitate the implementation and operation of this model.
• The promotion of financing and taxation measures in the new State Housing Plan 2026-2030, with the aim of consolidating this model as a real alternative in access to housing.

This proposal represents a key step in the recognition of cooperative housing in right of use within housing policies at the state level. In a current context of housing access crisis, with unaffordable rental prices for a large part of the population, the cooperative model in right of use demonstrates that there are other ways to guarantee the right to housing outside the speculative market and alongside public policies.

This institutional support must be translated into concrete measures that allow the model to be consolidated and expanded throughout the territory. 

The institutional recognition received today in the Congress of Deputies adds to what the May 2022 approved by the Parliament of Catalonia. This resolution includes measures such as the modification of the Cooperatives Law to specifically regulate this model, the establishment of tax credits and the improvement of financing by the Catalan Institute of Finances (ICF). These actions aim to consolidate cooperative housing in right of use as a viable and affordable alternative to guarantee the right to housing in Catalonia.

Catalonia, a pioneer in the promotion and recognition of cooperative housing

Cooperative housing on a right of use basis is an emerging model in several regions of Spain and continues to grow as a viable alternative to the housing access crisis.

Catalonia has been a pioneer in the institutional recognition of cooperative housing in right of use. Since 2016, this model has experienced notable growth. According to data from theObservatory Llargavista, in 2024 there were 67 projects in the promotion or coexistence phase in Catalonia, totaling more than 1190 homes, of which 404 are already in coexistence spread over 29 projects. In just over 8 years, cooperative housing already represents almost 3% of the social housing stock in Catalonia, with a growth of more than 50% annually. These initiatives are mainly distributed in the city of Barcelona, ​​but also extend to other municipalities such as Sant Cugat del Vallès, Palamós, Lleida, Manresa, Granollers or Palafrugell, where local administrations have ceded public land or collaborated in the mobilization of private land for the development of cooperative housing projects.

Some of the flagship projects are those located in Barcelona such as The Board, with 28 homes, or La Balma i Cirerers (driven and managed by Sostre Cívic) of 20 and 32 homes, respectively. The latter have been promoted thanks to the municipal support of the City Council for the free transfer of land. But also in Madrid have highlighted projects such as Appetizers, who since 2016 have been promoting projects in the Las Carolinas neighborhood, with a building of 17 homes, or in Vallecas, with 10 homes, acquiring land at market price and thus rescuing it from the speculative real estate market.

+Specific projects for older people in senior mode are also proliferating, where care, health and personal autonomy prevail, based on mutual support communities. These initiatives are aligned with the policies of deinstitutionalization of care. They highlight Etxekide i Etxekonak Bat in Pamplona,Walden XXI, Ch70 o Solterra in Catalonia, who join the pioneer Trabensol in Madrid. In the rural area, where the rehabilitation of large farmhouses is abundant, initiatives such as Houses are needed, Can Carner o El Turrós in Catalonia or Amethyst in Biscay.