A specific fiscal framework, more funding and public guarantees and facilitating access to diverse groups, the main demands of cooperatives in right of use transferred to the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy during the meeting

Yolanda Díaz reaffirms support for the cooperative housing model and promotes an interministerial plan to promote it as a key tool to guarantee the right to housing

Last December 19, we attended a key meeting organized by the Second Vice-President and Minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Diaz, at the Ateneo de Madrid. In this meeting, which brought together representatives of housing cooperatives from all over the state, we highlighted the success of the Catalan model of cooperative housing in right of use. on the part of Sostre Cívic, members of the Governing Council with Angela Garcia (vice president and partner of Cirerers), Maria Morillo (vocal and partner of Clau Mestra), David Guàrdia (co-director of the a cooperative) of the Mireia Riera (partner of the project Cal Paler Nou, our first project built on private land). We were joined by members of the housing task force from REAS-Network of Networks and project partners like Appetizers i Trabensol from Madrid, Cantabrian breeze, In Cobijo of Aragon and Amethyst of Euskadi. The confederation were also there CEPES and the federations HISPACOOP i CONCOVI.

A strategic model for the housing crisis

Since Sostre Cívic, we highlighted the key role of cooperative housing as a structural response to the housing and ecosocial crisis. This model, which guarantees access to decent housing without speculation, has already demonstrated its potential in Catalonia, where thanks to public-cooperative collaboration (but also to the same cooperative impulse that has mobilized nearly 500 homes on private property) have been boosted more than 1.000 homes between 2016 and 2024.

During the meeting, we were able to hear from the words of Minister Díaz and her team their support for cooperatives as a tool to guarantee equity and social justice, highlighting the need to include the cooperative model of housing in the public policies and the media agenda.

Proposals for the future of cooperative housing

In this meeting, we made specific demands to consolidate and expand the right of use model:

• A specific fiscal framework: It is essential to give housing cooperatives the qualification of "specially protected" in the tax regime, given that SOCIMI and leasing companies currently pay less tax than these non-profit initiatives.
• More financing and public guarantees: It is essential to guarantee a determined investment in this model, facilitating access to public land and specific aid programs to mobilize private land.
• Support for vulnerability and diverse groups: Facilitating access to housing cooperatives for people in a vulnerable situation and promoting intergenerational and inclusive projects.

We also defended the need for transversal interministerial coordination to promote efficient and structural measures that guarantee access to housing as a basic right.

This meeting represents a decisive step to place cooperative housing at the center of social policies at state level. from Sostre Cívic, we are proud to be leaders in this field and to continue working to expand a model that is already a reality in Catalonia.

With the support of the Government and the collaboration of the institutions, we can make our housing model accessible to many more people, promoting a decent, sustainable and transformative housing alternative. All the people attending the meeting agreed that this should be the first of several specific work sessions with each department, to specify efficient measures that structurally solve the housing problem and boost a key sector for economic and social change : cooperative housing.