Rincón de la Victoria cohousing project looks at expansion along the Costa del Sol

Housing

Tartessos is designed for older residents, with the aim that no one should have to leave the facility until the end of their life, even if they require a high level of care

José Rodríguez Cámar

When Tartessos Cohousing Senior Málaga opened its doors six months ago in Rincón de la Victoria on the eastern Costa del Sol, the managers of this housing cooperative—which has 65 members of retirement age—mentioned that there were just as many people on the waiting list, including not only older people but also young people looking for their first home.

Over time, the number of applications from people interested in this scheme has exceeded two hundred; the organisation acknowledges that it is no longer possible to accept further applications to join the project.

On the surface, Tartessos is just another residential development on the Costa del Sol. It is located at 13 Avenida de Picasso, between Cueva del Tesoro and El Cantal, in Rincón de la Victoria. However, it is not a conventional development; rather, it is ‘a complex of housing units with no owners’.

The development is the result of collaboration between the members, who contributed capital – around 140,000 euros each – to make a total investment of 11 million euros possible.

This sum enabled the construction of the various flats and communal areas. In the entire development, those who enjoy the properties are not their owners; the cooperative is the sole owner and offers its facilities to members on a system of ‘right of use’ that is perpetual and transferable.

The amount contributed is linked to the Consumer Price Index and the descendants of those who put in the money are also entitled to enjoy the benefits, as explained by the cooperative’s president, José Antonio López, who emphasises that, in terms of scale, this ‘cohousing’ project is the largest in Spain, a benchmark and, as he argues, "a beacon of hope".

With a view to expanding the model which, in López’s words, is ‘anti-speculative’ – as it drastically reduces costs by minimising the number of intermediaries and does not allow for any profit on the part of developers – Tartessos continues to search for land in the Axarquía area of Malaga province and is holding talks with various town halls including those of Rincón and Vélez-Málaga, in a bid to secure their support.

“It’s a genuine alternative to current house prices, and here we’ve seen that it’s possible,” López makes clear, calling on public authorities to streamline the paperwork as much as possible and ensure that this type of housing solution complies with regulations.

This is what happened in Rincón de la Victoria, when, after finding the ideal location in a former religious building, they approached the town hall for support, which eventually granted a licence on the condition that the property would be used for social purposes.

Tartessos is designed for older residents, with the aim that no one should have to leave the facility until the end of their life, even if they require a high level of care; indeed, it is intended that members of this community will receive all the care they need.

The project will create 20 jobs and 25 per cent of the care places have been allocated to Rincón de la Victoria at no cost, with the aim of making the facility accessible to the local population.

The Andalusian Federation of Cooperative Enterprises (Faecta), whose collaboration was key to launching this initiative in Rincón de la Victoria, held a meeting in Tartessos focused on analysing and promoting housing models of this kind.

Participants included the president of Faecta, Luis Miguel Jurado Mancilla; the regional government representative, Carmen Sánchez Sierra and the mayor of Rincón de la Victoria and president of Malaga's provincial authority the Diputación de Málaga, Francisco Salado Escaño.

“Co-operative housing under a right-of-use arrangement represents an approach that puts people at the centre and promotes more participatory and sustainable models of coexistence,” Luis Miguel Jurado made clear to a forum attended by, among others, representatives from Fiare Banca Ética, the University of Málaga and Hispacoop.