Barcelona is to give a new boost to its public housing stock to guarantee access to decent and affordable housing. Full Council has approved the cession of four plots of land to the Municipal Housing Trust (PMHB) to build 200 new protected flats. The four plots of land, in the neighbourhoods of Barceloneta, Roquetes, Torre Baró and Trinitat Nova, will continue to be publicly-owned.

The sites are:

The property at Pg. Joan de Borbó, 11, in the neighbourhood of Barceloneta, in Ciutat Vella. The site is to be used for 8 cohousing homes as part of the cooperative housing model being promoted by the PMHB.

The property at C/ Pla dels Cirerers, 2-4, in the neighbourhood of Roquetes, in Nou Barris. The number of homes due to be built is 23, via a cohousing project which is being put out to tender.

The property at Av. Escolapi Càncer, 10-12, in the neighbourhood of Torre Baró, in Nou Barris. The number of homes due to be built is 47, to be used as social housing.

The property at Via Favència, 263-271, in the neighbourhood of Trinitat Nova, in Nou Barris. The site is due to be used for the construction of protected rented housing, as well as leaseholds of 75 years. The total number of homes planned is 122, half of them for each model of ownership.

The aim of the Plan for the Right to Housing 2016-2025 is for 80% of the housing stock to be for social rent, with other ownership models such as cohousing also being promoted. Following the example of other countries, the cohousing model is starting to be applied in Barcelona and is based on usage rights for plots of publicly-owned land and cooperative housing which pursues a communal project, sustainable and firmly-rooted in the neighbourhood.

The Councillor for Housing, Josep Maria Montaner, highlighted the innovative aspect of introducing cooperative housing on two of the plots, explaining: “These are cooperative projects to prevent property speculation”.

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