Towards a real alternative to the housing crisis? – Athenaeum

Access to housing has become one of the main social and economic problems of recent decades. The uncontrolled rise in purchasing and rent prices, gentrification and real estate speculation have made many people, especially young people and families with less resources, find it serious difficulty accessing a decent and stable home. In this context, the model of cooperative housing in transfer of use has been consolidated as a viable alternative to guarantee fair and sustainable access to housing, breaking with the speculative logic of the market and emphasizing the collective property and the democratic management of buildings.

Cooperative housing projects have shown that it is possible to develop a model in which housing is not treated as an investment good but as a fundamental right, guaranteeing long -term stability and offering an alternative to traditional rental and purchase options. But can this model climb enough to become a structural response to the housing crisis? What challenges should you face to consolidate as a real option for more people?

The housing crisis: a structural problem

The current housing crisis is not a conjunctural matter but the result of a market model that has made housing a financial asset, with the consequence that access to a home depends more and more on the purchasing capacity of people and not their needs. This phenomenon has been intensified in recent years due to several factors:

• Rise of purchase and rental pricesespecially in large cities and metropolitan areas.
• Lack of public and social housing offerwith one of the lowest rates in Europe.
• Real estate speculation and tourismwhich many people have expelled from their neighborhoods.
• Protection of tenantswith short contracts and difficult price increases to take.

In Catalonia, the Baix Llobregat He has not been alien to this dynamic. Its proximity to Barcelona has led many localities in the region to experience a sharp increase in housing prices, becoming an area of ​​expulsion for many people who can no longer afford to live in the Catalan capital. This situation has promoted an increasing interest in alternative models such as cooperative housing.

The cooperative housing model in use of use: How does it work?

The cooperative housing model in transfer of use is based on the idea that housing must be a collective good and not a speculative asset. Unlike the traditional model of ownership or rent, in a housing cooperative residents are not individual owners of the property, but collectively manage the building through the cooperative, which maintains its ownership.

This model has several key features:

✅ Collective property: The building belongs to the cooperative, and the residents have the right to the use of housing indefinitely, avoiding speculative processes.

✅ Democratic management: Decisions on the management and maintenance of the building are taken collectively, ensuring a horizontal and participatory model.

✅ Long -term stability: Residents have the guarantee that they will not be expelled by price rises or evictions, as often in the rental market.

✅ Affordable prices: The access costs are much lower than the purchase of a home, and the monthly fees remain stable apart from the dynamics of the real estate market.

This model has gained strength in Catalonia in recent years, with experiences such as La Borda and La Balma in Barcelonawhich have shown that it is possible to build cooperative housing with criteria of sustainability and accessibility.

Cooperative housing experiences in the Baix Llobregat

The Baix Llobregat, with high urban pressure and an increasingly inaccessible real estate market, has begun exploring the cooperative housing model as a viable solution. Several projects are underway or in the process of development, highlighting initiatives that have had the support of city councils and entities in the social and solidarity economy.

One of the most significant examples is Coop Housingan initiative promoted by several cooperatives in the territory that seeks to create an affordable and sustainable housing model. This project is committed to the construction of housing on land ceded by city councils, thus guaranteeing their protection in the face of real estate pressure.

Also worth noting is the work of entities such as Civic roofwhich have developed projects in various municipalities and that have collaborated with city councils in the Baix Llobregat to promote cooperative housing initiatives.

Challenges and difficulties of the model

Despite its advantages, the cooperative housing model still has to face several obstacles to consolidate itself as a large-scale alternative:

⚠ Access to the ground: The availability of land is one of the main challenges, as most of the land is in private hands or for conventional promotion projects.

⚠ Funding: Although there are ethical finance entities such as Coop57 or Fiare Supporting these projects, the lack of public funding limits their growth.

⚠ Institutional support: Many councils have not yet developed specific policies to facilitate the creation of cooperative housing, which hinders their implementation.

⚠ Dissemination and knowledge of the model: There is still a lack of knowledge among the population about how this model works and what its advantages are.

To overcome these obstacles, you need a more determined bet by public administrationswith policies that promote the use of land for cooperative housing and facilitate access to funding. It is also essential to continue to raise awareness and inform the citizenry of this model, showing that it is a viable and sustainable alternative.

Toward a new way of understanding housing

Cooperative housing is not only a solution to accessing decent and affordable housing, it also represents a paradigm shift in the way they understand property and coexistence. This model breaks with the speculative logic of the real estate market and emphasizes the Cooperation, sustainability and democracyessential values ​​to build fairer and habitable cities.

The Baix Llobregat has an opportunity to lead this change, taking advantage of its tradition of social struggle and cooperativism to promote new projects that guarantee the right to housing. Now the question is not only if this model can work but How can we grow it and consolidate it as a real alternative for everyone.