BCN City 2016 2025 housing plan

1. Barcelona’s
social and affordable housing policy
Office of the Housing Manager
Ajuntament de Barcelona
World Urban Forum 11
Shaping equitable urban futures: transforming cities by investing in public value and public space

2. Population
Barcelona Municipality: 1.7M
Metropolitan Area: 3M
Metropolitan Region: 5M.
GDP: €84B
Unemployment: 7% (13% nationally)

3. Housing crisis
10,12 %
-5,36 %
9,48%
408,27€
813,02€
681,56€
978,81 €
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1.000
1.100
1.200
Annual
variation
Average
rent
(€/month)
Barcelona has
experienced two
bubbles, the real
estate bubble and the
rental bubble.
Evolution of rents in Barcelona
Source: Incasòl

4. Market Failure -> Mismatch between
Demand and Supply Spain needs 2.6
million affordable housing units (HPO) in
rental (or other alternative tenures) in
order to converge with the rest of Europe
(15% of the housing stock). In Barcelona
there is a 90,000 units deficit.
.
%
social
housing
stock
Source: OCDE Affordable Housing Database
Percentage of social housing in OECD countries
0
10
20
30
40
Little Rental public housing stock
in Barcelona represents around 1.5%
of the overall housing stock.

5. Barcelona Affordable
Housing Mission

6. IMHAB is Barcelona’s public housing company, managing
the City’s 11,200+ public housing units, rental vouchers, and
renovation subsidies.
The company was created in 1927 and consolidated with
other agencies in 2018.
Housing Consortium (City+State/Region): Applicants’ registry and allocation.
Municipal Institute of Housing and Renovation (IMHAB): Social housing development & property management.
Municipal Institute of Social Services (IMSS): Supportive services & rental subsidies.
Institutional framework

7. Data mastering = Market shaping
Metropolitan Housing Observatory (O-HB) Barcelona Housing Studies University Chair
4-year framework agreement extendable to 4 more years.
4 co-directors, one from each university.
Annual budget of 150,000€, 25% from each university.
10% Overhead for each university.
RESEARCH
Interdisciplinary
applied research
PhD Thesis and
Awards
EDUCATION
Master and
Postgraduate
degrees
For providers
and researchers
CONSULTING
Applied
knowledge
creation
Institutional
consulting
DISSEMINACIÓ
Networking
Media
communication
Congresses

8. From market fixing to market shaping approach in BCN housing policy
1. Since 2015, Barcelona has changed the paradigm of its housing policy:
1. From a market-fixing to a market-shaping approach
2. The role of the public sector is to shape and direct the market to meet a public goal: the
creation of an abundant affordable housing market.
3. The mission is clear: to ensure access to decent, green, healthy, and affordable housing for
all.
2. The new approach requires rethinking:
1. the role of the government (towards an entrepreneurial local public sector)
2. the private sector (towards purposeful stakeholder companies),
3. along with a different approach to public, private and civic collaboration (towards
symbiotic and mutualistic ecosystems which risks and rewards are equally shared).
3. Looking for patient long-term strategic investment by
1. Creating instruments that can crowd in private investment towards tackling public
challenges like housing.
2. Stimulating investments that might not have happened otherwise.

9. Political agenda setting
and civic engagement
Clear targeted mission
Cross-sectoral innovation
Portfolio of projects and
bottom-up
experimentation
ENSURE ACCESS FOR ALL TO DECENT, GREEN, HEALTHY AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING
By 2030, reduce the share of housing overburdened tenant households to below
30% in the city of Barcelona
HOUSING FOR ALL

10. Right to Housing Plan 2016-2025
New construction
54%
Acquisitions
22%
Cession
11%
Private units
temporarily
mobilized
13%
Between 2016 and 2020 the city’s affordable housing
has increased by 3.607 units, which have provided
housing to 9.100 people.
Half of them result from new construction while the other half come
from acquisitions and private units temporarily mobilized as affordable
housing.
3.607
Units
Instruments for the increase of the affordable housing stock
69% of the new affordable housing has been
developed by the City Council.

11. Public development
IMHAB has increased exponentially its housing development
and management capacities, 80% of the new units being in
rental.
At the end of 2021 there were 82 projects underway on
municipal land, which will generate 6,100 units between 2016-
2025.
Bon Pastor
C/ Tànger
0
200
400
600
800
1.000
1.200
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Average
development by
IMHAB
Units developed by
IMHAB
Development goals as
set by Housing Plan
2016-2025

12. Public development
Innovation through industrialized construction is allowing to:
▪ Minimize the environmental impact of the buildings through
their life cycle.
▪ Reduce time.
▪ Reduce costs.
▪ Improve the quality, control and efficiency of the
construction works.
▪ Development has also accelerated thanks to the use of joint
project + construction procurement.
APROP Ciutat Vella
Casernes de Sant Andreu

13. Public-Community partnerships
Framework Agreement with Non-for-profit
providers (ESAL)
Cohousing development through 3 phases:
▪ Bilateral agreements for 2 pilot projects (2014 and 2015):
33 units.
▪ Competitive tenders (2016 and 2019): 217 units.
▪ Partnership between City Council-Cooperatives-
Foundations (2021): 1.000 units in 10 years.
▪ Long-term lease on municipal land (99 years).
▪ 60% rental, 40% cooperative.
▪ Municipal returnable subsidy (7-16%).
▪ Support in the access to financing from ICF and ICO.
▪ End goal: Community Land Trust.
From left to right:
Cirerers, Princesa, La Balma i La Borda.

14. Symbiotic Public-Private Partnerships
Habitatge Metròpolis Barcelona
PPP between the City Council (25%) the Metropolitan Area of
Barcelona (AMB, 25%) and private partners selected through
a public tender (50%):
Goal: 4,500 rental HPO in 8 years.
Institutional PPP without losing public capacity
Shared governance structure (4 public, 4 private + 1 neutral)
Shared risks and rewards.
Private partners –NEINOR and CEVASA – selected in 2021.

15. Public Buy-to-Rent Policy
Goal
To increase the stock of non-
segregated affordable housing in the
neighborhoods where it is not possible to
increase the supply by building new
homes
2015-2022->
• 1.324 Housing Units
• 145 M€

16. Temporary mobilization of private housing
Rental housing pool Cession programme Touristic apartment’s programme
• Programme managed by Hàbitat 3 foundation in partnership with
Barcelona City Council.
• Renovation subsidies as main incentive.
• 2 contract system: owner-foundations & foundation-renter..
• Tenants pay an amount according to their income and the
municipality subsidises the rest.
1,500 units
administered
between the 2
programs in
2021

17. Summary of strategies to increase the affordable housing stock
Development
• 8,000 units
• 80% rentals – 20% leaseholds
• 67% public development – 37% PPPs
• 1,200M€
• 19,000 residents
• 13,000 jobs
Acquisition
• 1,324 units
• 100% rentals
• 145M€
• 7,000 jobs
Temporary mobilization of private units
• 1,500 units
• 100% rentals
• 25M€
• 6,000 jobs
The public housing stock will grow from 7,500 units
in 2015 to 17,500 in 2025 (10.781 in 2021).
20.000 households receive rental subsidies.
17.500 public renters + 20.000 rental subsidies =
18% of the rental housing stock in Barcelona in
2025 (15% in 2021)

18. Awards and future events
Award Project Category Year
Urbact Best Practice UCER
Prevenetion of evictions and
homelessness
2017
World Habitat Award
Hàbitat 3 cession programme,
La Borda
Best innovative initiative,
Bronze
2019
European Responsible Housing Award
“Place-based anti-speculation
housing policies”,
La Borda
Fair financing and housing
affordability,
Special prize for innovation
2019
AVS Can Fabra Best building in new construction 2020
Mapei + Green Building Council Spain Can Fabra 2020
Advanced Architecture Awards Can Fabra 2020
FAD APROP (finalist) 2020
FAD Can Fabra 2021
AIT-Award Can Fabra First prize in collective housing 2021
New European Bauhaus APROP
Modular, adaptable and mobile
living solutions
2021
EU Mies Award La Borda Emerging Architecture 2022
Advanced Architecture Awards Cirerers
Sostenibilidad, descarbonización,
mayor autogeneración de energía
de un edificio
2022
Barcelona, August 30
– September 2, 2022
Barcelona, March 2023

19. Conclusions
Barcelona as an emerging, mission-oriented model (Mazzucato), based
on symbiotic collaborations between public, private and community
stakeholders.
Co-shape the market from the public sector. Without a strong public role,
nowhere and never in history, has it been possible to generate permanently
affordable housing estates.
Reach agreements with private, communitarian and commercial
stakeholders. Public commitment is necessary but not enough. There needs
to be a whole set of alliances between different types of affordable housing
providers.

20. Thank you for you attention!
Institut Municipal de l’Habitatge
i Rehabilitació de Barcelona
Ajuntament de Barcelona
Office of the Housing Manager