Barcelona has not allocated any new land to the ESAL agreement (non-profit entities) since 2022, paralyzing social and cooperative housing. All the current projects with work in progress are the result of awards for the 2020-2022 period.

The Solidarity Economy Network and Habicoop demand by letter to Mayor Collboni a change of direction in housing policies.

The entities reject the municipal government's announcement to tender land to commercial companies and demand that collaboration between the public sector and non-profit entities be prioritized.

La Solidarity Economy Network of Catalonia (XES) I la Federation of Housing Cooperatives of Catalonia (Habicoop), which brings together more than 500 cooperatives and other entities of the social and solidarity economy, have sent a letter to the mayor of Barcelona, ​​Jaume Collboni, to express his disappointment at the technical extension of the ESAL (Non-Profit Social Entities) agreement without expanding the allocation of new public lots. The aim of this extension is to give continuity to the projects and works currently underway in the city, corresponding to plots allocated between 2020 and 2022. The entities warn that this situation puts at risk the cooperative housing model in right of use, key to guarantee the right to housing in the city.

A drastic reduction in public-community collaboration

The ESAL agreement, signed in 2020 and approved by the Municipal Council without any vote against, it is a public-community collaboration tool that complements the push for public housing in Barcelona. It aims to expand the affordable housing stock with more than 1.000 homes in the shortest possible time, guaranteeing its social function and enhancing its community dimension. By virtue of this agreement, between 2020 and 2022, the City Council awarded 16 public lots for the construction of 600 social and cooperative homes, scheduled for completion before 2026.

The agreement stands out for its rapid pace of production ensuring that the land remains in public hands through temporary surface rights awarded to cooperatives and non-profit entities (such as foundations that promote social rent). The homes, intended for people registered in the sheltered housing register, are built with high energy efficiency criteria. The agreement excludes private developers with a desire for profit and includes housing with services for the elderly and spaces adapted for people with intellectual disabilities.

Despite the good results, no new plots have been allocated in 2023 and 2024. By 2025, the City Council plans to award small lots that will add up to only 63 homes, an insufficient number that represents a drastic reduction to 10% of the volume promoted in the previous period. This situation "leaves at a dead end such an effective instrument for making affordable housing and for collaborating with social entities", according to the XES and Habicoop.

Cooperative housing in Barcelona: an emerging model, an alternative to the speculative market

The cooperative housing in right of use is an innovative and viable alternative to the speculative market. Pioneering projects across the state com Princesa49 and La Borda, promoted by the council and cooperatives in 2014 and 2015, have consolidated this model in Barcelona, ​​with 125 homes spread over 6 buildings and a forecast of 17 by 2026 thanks to the ESAL agreement. Despite different international recognitions and the support of the Parliament of Catalonia (Resolution 374/XIV), the lack of new sites slows down the expansion of this model, which is being replicated throughout Catalonia.

The situation is particularly worrying if you consider that the City Council plans to delegate the promotion of social housing to for-profit developers. "This decision is incoherent when we have a social and cooperative sector ready to expand the affordable and community housing stock", we indicate the entities of the cooperative sector in the letter.

In addition, the entities remember that a recent study by the European Economic and Social Committee of the EU calls for a clear commitment to models such as cooperative housing to guarantee affordable access to housing. The study, which uses the La Borda cooperative in Sants as an example, underlines the need for a pan-European political response to the housing crisis.

The demands of the XES and Habicoop

Faced with this situation, the entities demand:

• Prioritize collaboration with cooperatives and other non-profit entities before profit-making companies in the production and management of social and affordable housing, and agree with the representative entities on any changes to this policy.
• Reactivate the ESAL agreement, awarding land for at least 400 homes in 2025 to comply with the agreement.
• Agree on a real extension of the agreement, with the aim of building 1.000 more new homes in the coming years, following a clear annual calendar.

The cooperatives and social entities of the XES and Habicoop appeal to the City Council to strengthen the right to housing in Barcelona, ​​rapidly expanding the production of affordable housing and guaranteeing the continuity of the ESAL agreement in collaboration with the entities social