Andorran Architects Launch L’Estaló to Promote Cooperative Housing Amid Rent Crisis

Architects Andrea Doncel, Lluís Ginjaume, Gerard Veciana, and Gerard Fontanet have launched L’Estaló, an association promoting cooperative housing in Andorra as an alternative to the housing access crisis driven by rising rents. The group unveiled the initiative at a public presentation in Andorra la Vella’s Sala Ària on 2 July, seeking to connect citizens, administrations, and stakeholders while providing guidance on regulations, land identification, and public-private collaborations.

One week later, L’Estaló reported around 30 people expressing interest in joining cooperatives, despite no projects underway and the need for broader awareness efforts. The association, still formalizing its constitution within two weeks, has advocated for the model since 2023. It held recent meetings with officials, including a scheduled session with the Institut Nacional de l’Habitatge, and noted increasing bank interest in social housing financing. Founders stressed they would facilitate connections rather than create cooperatives directly. Key hurdles remain administrative support and available land, with no sites yet identified.

In the model, a cooperative owns the building collectively on long-term ceded land from public bodies, parishes, or private owners—akin to Pas de la Casa’s emfitèutic census granting 70-99 years of use and development rights for an annual fee, after which assets could revert for public affordable housing. Residents gain indefinite usage rights but cannot sell or rent units, enabling collective decisions, shared spaces like communal kitchens and green roofs, and recoverable contributions upon exit.

To demonstrate feasibility, L’Estaló presented a 45-unit simulation on ceded public land, totaling nearly €13 million including €10.85 million in construction, financed over 30 years at 4% interest. Base costs without aid: €40,160 initial and €896 monthly for a 55 sqm one-bedroom; €56,220 and €1,255 for 77 sqm two-bedroom; €71,550 and €1,597 for 98 sqm three-bedroom. Government first-time buyer aid halves upfront payments and reduces fees by about 14%: €20,080/€774, €28,110/€1,084, €35,775/€1,380. Enhanced public support could lower them further to €16,730/€670, €23,425/€930, €29,815/€1,190—roughly €12-16 per sqm, under AGIA’s €26.9 and SICAR’s €18.8 market rental averages. New contracts have doubled in price over five years, with overall rents up 40%, far exceeding wage growth.

Ginjaume described it as a “win-win” free of speculation. Doncel positioned it as a proven “third way” cutting land costs (30% of conventional projects), developer margins, and intermediaries while fostering stability and community. Veciana and Fontanet highlighted administration and land as bigger barriers than resident demand.

Examples include Zurich’s Holderhof and Kalkbreite cooperatives, covering over 20% of housing; Catalonia’s 69 projects with 1,213 units for 791 residents, from 1962’s Cooperativa Obrera de Viviendas del Prat to Barcelona’s La Borda, where inhabitants note “my flat is the whole building.” Broader successes span Nordic countries, France (157 cooperatives), Spain (84), and Switzerland (around 1,500 nationwide, housing over 8% of the population). Desperta Laurèdia and Partit Socialdemòcrata have referenced the approach. The name draws from a vital structural pillar in Pyrenean architecture.