Urban Planning, Ecological Transition, Urban Services and Housing

Barcelona City Council, through the Municipal Institute for Housing and Renovation (IMHAB), is continuing to expand the housing stock that it promotes in partnership with social organisations. This Tuesday, 19th March, the signing of two contracts for the transfer of surface rights was formalised in favour of the UTE Llar Barceloneta and the Fundació Hàbitat3, in order to transfer to them three buildings, one in the Barceloneta neighbourhood and two in the Horta neighbourhood, which will be used for social rental.

The entities will have to renovate the three buildings and then dedicate them to social rental housing. These projects will provide 52 homes for families in need.

Renovation of 14 houses in Barceloneta

The UTE Llar Barceloneta (formed by the SALAS Foundation and the Hábitat3 Foundation) will be responsible for the renovation and management of the officially listed block of flats at passeig de Joan de Borbó, 44-45, in the Barceloneta neighbourhood.

Currently, the building consists of 13 flats and a shop, but after the renovation there will be 18. Part of the houses, 25%, will be for people at risk of housing exclusion and the rest will be for people seeking sheltered housing.

The duration of the surface right is 99 years from the date of the deed and the designated foundations undertake to complete the works within two years from the date of the change of name of the building licence.

Mont-ral, Letamendi and Casa Gran

The other buildings for which the City Council has transferred the surface rights are located on Mont-ral Street, 39-41, and Letamendi Street, 99-101. Two of these will be renovated. The current 38 flats already house families in vulnerable situations who will continue to live in the building once it is renovated. The third building will be demolished.

Once this first phase of work has been completed, a building (Casa Gran) will be built on the same site. It will be about 600m² and will have 12 rooms with bathroom and common areas on each floor (kitchen and living room) and a common area on the ground floor. This new building will be used for women in vulnerable situations.

Development of the ESAL Agreement

These projects are part of the ESAL Agreement, signed in 2020 by Barcelona City Council and the main associations of social housing cooperatives and foundations. The agreement was born as a pioneering mechanism for cooperation with the third sector, through the allocation of public land to non-profit organisations and the transfer of land.

This makes it possible to promote the construction and renovation of public housing for rent and the transfer of the right of use (co-housing) through the creation of surface rights. It is a tool that promotes the growth of the public housing stock while diversifying the range of actors involved.

The ESAL agreement is an alliance between the Barcelona City Council and the Federació de Cooperatives d’Habitatges de Catalunya (FCHC), the Coordinadora de Fundacions d’Habitatge Social (Cohabitac), the Associació Xarxa d’Economia Solidària (XES) and the Associació de Gestors de Polítiques Socials d’Habitatge de Catalunya (GHS).

The projects submitted must comply with the following criteria:

• Speed and industrialisation of processing and construction or renovation of housing.
• Technical and economic capacity to guarantee execution of the work.
• Protected rental prices and right of use fees.
• Avoidance of projects all being given to a few developers.
• Climate emergency criteria.
• Fostering of community ties.