With rents skyrocketing in Barcelona and other big cities in the country, it is worth asking the question: how to solve the housing problem in Spain? Far from repeating the mantra of “we need more supply”, Jaime Palomera, PhD in Economic Anthropology from the University of Barcelona and co-founder of the Sindicat de Llogateres, has given some clues in his latest intervention in the podcast “A pachas” of Secret Media Network.
In the almost hour of conversation between Palomera and journalist Antonio Pineda, the activist has banished the myth of the supply of new housing (“ends up back in the hands of a few”). Instead, he has given some keys such as the promotion of housing cooperatives that are already beginning to settle in Catalonia and in other cities like Madrid to the problem of access to home ownership and even rental housing.
“Right now in Barcelona, it is very difficult to buy a house, even if you work hard and save. I’ve been working for 42 years and I haven’t been able to do it,” said Palomera, who recognizes the cooperative movement as the solution to the large down payment that an apartment represents today.
“Housing cooperatives are growing everywhere,” he pointed out. “It’s paying for the whole building together so that everyone can get a cheaper price for each of the apartments.”
“In Barcelona there are a lot [of cooperatives]; in Madrid there are some; there are more and more,” he added before banishing another myth. “Cooperative housing is not shabby housing, they are beautiful: wooden buildings where people of all kinds live – older people, young people.”
How does cooperative housing work?
This type of housing is based on one premise: eliminating profit. They are offered at cost price, which lowers prices by 10 to 30%, according to various sources. The individuals then contribute a percentage of the capital necessary to carry out the work, around 20% of the value, while the ownership of the homes belongs to the cooperative, which grants its members the use of the homes for periods of 50 years or more.
Each member has one vote in these cooperatives and can participate in their design. With the capital contributed, you can access a home at a price that is almost impossible in Barcelona today.
Case study: La Borda
La Borda, in Sants, was built on public land ceded by the City Council for 75 years. It is a pioneering building, designed by the architects’ cooperative Lacol and built with a wooden structure -the tallest in Spain in this material-, which houses 28 subsidized housing units with rents well below the market (between 400 and 600 euros per month).
In this model, ownership is vested in the cooperative, not in the residents, which prevents speculation: the dwellings cannot be sold or rented to third parties. In addition, the building has common spaces that promote community life, such as laundry, shared kitchen or rooms for visitors.
The financing of the La Borda project, which had a total cost of three million euros, was articulated through a combination of neighborhood contributions and ethical financing.
On the one hand, the members of the cooperative contributed some 600,000 euros, through their initial individual contributions (about 18,500 euros per person).
The rest of the capital was obtained through loans granted by ethical and solidarity finance entities: Coop57 contributed €800,000 at a low interest rate, while La Dinamo, a foundation specialized in cooperative housing, contributed €150,000.
The contribution is not lost: if the member decides to leave the project, the cooperative returns this capital, and its right of use is reassigned to another person without economic benefit.
The housing market, in ‘A pachas’.
This conversation with Jaime Palomera also addresses other issues such as real estate speculation in peripheral neighborhoods, the impact of mass tourism on rental prices, the figure of the digital nomad and its effect on access to housing, as well as the differences between international models, such as Vienna or Singapore, which have managed to curb inequality through public housing policies.
You can listen to the full episode on your favorite podcast platform or on Youtube.