QUI SOM

At Sostre Cívic we work for the cooperative housing in right of use as an alternative to access housing, since it guarantees the right to housing in the long term and departs from the current model that promotes the private property as a majority tenure system. With the right of use, ownership of the property is collective and rests with the entity, and members have the right to live indefinitely in cooperative housing.

The association

Sostre Cívic is born in 2004 in the form of an association. It is the pioneering entity in the country in the promotion of cooperative housing in the right of use and becomes the participation space for a series of people who, on a voluntary basis, want to promote an alternative of access and tenure to Catalonia

Monthly information session | Space Line

The association has a social purpose the dissemination and promotion of cooperative housing in right of use and support for existing cooperative housing projects, as well as the promotion, in general, of a new model of access to housing that is economically accessible and without entering the speculative market.

• We release the model through the organization and participation in events and the creation of informative materials.
• We influence the change of public policies related to housing.
• We work in a network with entities in the field of the social and solidarity economy.

In general, the association's activities are carried out openly and are aimed at a wide audience and are financed by the contributions of the members and with the support of the administration through public subsidies.

The cooperative

Sostre Cívic was born as an association in a context where cooperative housing in right of use was almost unknown in Catalonia, and with the aim of disseminating and promoting this model among public administrations, ESS entities and the set of the general population.

El 2010, six years after its creation, the eponymous cooperative was established upon realizing the need to have a legal entity that allows the promotion of the first cooperative housing projects.

Extraordinary General Assembly | February 2019

Currently, we are more than 1400 members, with 22 projects (13 already in coexistence) and 175 homes in use. In addition, we promote the creation of new projects through support and accompaniment to individuals and seed groups, and we respond to requests and proposals for collaboration from third parties, especially town councils.

A COOPERATIVE FOR PROJECTS

Sostre Cívic is the first cooperative for projects created in Catalonia! We promote several projects ofcooperative housing and all of them are included under the same umbrella of Sostre Cívic.

Each project is managed independently and has its own assembly. In addition, they have separate economic management and financing, and risks are not shared between the different projects of the cooperative. The autonomy of each project is shielded by the statutes and by the Law on cooperatives of Catalonia (item 126).

The key aspects of the model are regulated in the general statuses of the cooperative, and any modification must be approved in the General Assembly.

Why did we choose this model?

• To facilitate the creation of new projects. The promotion of a new project in an existing cooperative is a simpler process since it is not necessary to draw up new statutes or establish a new cooperative. Both the management and the expenses linked to this procedure are saved.

• To shield the long-term model, avoiding the sale of assets or speculation with housing. In the event that one of the cooperative's buildings is to be sold, it is essential that the sale be approved by a majority in the General Assembly, where all members of the cooperative participate. Sostre Cívic and not only those of the specific project.
• To create a network of mutual support between projects, and allow the mobility of partners from one project to another. Projects can share experiences and knowledge, carry out joint activities and establish support mechanisms. In addition, the shared internal technical structure avoids the outsourcing of some tasks, reduces expenses and facilitates management in the different phases of the cooperative housing project.
• To ensure the replicability of the model and its long-term sustainability. Once the repayment of the credit has been completed, users pay a lower fee, referenced in a public indicator (currently a percentage of the HPO rental price), which includes building maintenance and services, as well as a part of this is also allocated to the replicability of the model and to the financing of new projects.

Mission and vision

At the Ordinary General Assembly of June 30, 2023, the partners of Sostre Cívic we ratified the Strategic Plan 2025, which will guide our growth in a sustainable and sustained manner and where the mission, vision and values ​​of our entity were defined.

Ordinary General Assembly | June 2023

MISSION

We offer people a housing alternative through the promotion and management of our own stock of cooperative housing in right of use and promoting cooperative dynamics between members.

VISION

We want to generate a social transformation affecting a new model of housing throughout the Catalan territory that is a stable and viable alternative, non-profit, non-speculative and with cooperative dynamics between the partners.