The challenges of SHARE home-swapping: building bridges across generations

At its core, SHARE is about more than just bricks and mortar: it combines the renovation of a semi-abandoned school into a “Lifetime Housing Complex” for seniors with a solidarity housing system that enables older homeowners to pass their original apartments on to younger people. The idea is to foster mutual support across generations—addressing social isolation among the elderly and the housing crisis facing youth—while promoting sustainable urban reuse.

During the first phase, participatory research brought together young people and “pre-dependent” elderly participants to collect input on the renovation competition for the school. Interestingly, those involved in this early consultation were not selected as the future residents of the complex. This approach allowed researchers to gather broad, unbiased insights on needs and preferences: actual beneficiaries will be engages in the  second phase of the project,  who will eventually share these spaces and responsibilities. Experiences shared in URBACT Cities 4 Co-housing to which Fuenlabrada is partner of, like Brussels’ CALICO UIA project, suggests selecting beneficiaries in an early stage and working together with them before they move to their new houses. Without such early and continuous involvement, there’s a risk that the spirit of solidarity and cooperation will remain abstract.

Beyond community dynamics, the project faces challenging legal and financial aspects tied to the ownership and management of the apartments involved. SHARE´´ pilot foresees that If seniors wish to move to the San Esteban cohousing complex, they are required to rent out their current homes. Their apartments will be rented out to young families at below-market rate. The units themselves remain privately owned by the elderly homeowners who voluntarily agree to move into the new Cohousing, in exchange of renting their owned apartment. This voluntary aspect is crucial but might be fragile: the sustainable success of SHARE hinges on seniors’ willingness to commit their homes to the scheme. The “house-swapping” mechanism—designed to enable older adults to downsize while younger people move into their former homes—requires transparent and legally sound criteria to select beneficiaries and define terms of use.

Income levels, property location, and homeowner commitment all influence these criteria. However, the balance between protecting vulnerable residents and encouraging participation is delicate. As the SHARE team representative puts it “ it is about giving the possibility to young people to afford the rental payment and elderly to live a comfortable communal life.”

The financial model itself might be challenging.  The apartments vacated by seniors will generate rental income intended to help cover the costs of communal services within the cohousing complex. More specifically, there won't be healthcare support or autonomy assistance itself; the communal services included in the payment are more related to the building services (cleaning fees and utility costs) supported by a mediator called “case-manager” gestor de casos .The City Council will provide to all people the telecare and the Konecta2 services for free.

At the same time, the pilot ensures that young people can pay a rent below the average of the market price, while the elderly will pay 80% of this amount for the cohousing, using the income from renting out their apartments.. “The City Hall knows that it is a social project; it is not about a benefit for the municipality that, for sure, will invest in the project and its maintenance”.

Inheritance laws might complicate matters further. When elderly homeowners pass away, their heirs might reclaim ownership but cannot disrupt tenancy agreements with younger residents while the contract is on force. According to the Spanish "Ley de arrendamientos Urbanos", heirs are obliged to maintain the rental contract. Legal experts are actively seeking solutions compliant with Spanish law.

Another structural challenge is ensuring long-term financial sustainability for the integrated services envisioned within the cohousing site. Although EU funding supports initial investments, ongoing costs must be shared between municipal subsidies and rental revenues.

Youth participation is central to the project’s philosophy of intergenerational solidarity. While young families gain access to affordable housing, the extent and nature of their involvement in refurbishing apartments and managing communal life is not foreseen. At this stage, there are no plans for young people to participate in the renovations, as most of the refurbishment work will focus on energy efficiency. The intention is for technical staff to assess the houses and determine the most essential works to be carried out, with an average maximum budget of €15,000 per flat. The current plan involves guidance from the municipal authority for rehabilitation efforts, but decision-making processes could be refined alongside the advancement of the project in a way that young residents would feel empowered partners in the project’s evolution.

Several governance options might be on the table to make SHARE ideas a reality. One could be establishing an internal “in-house agency” within the municipality, operating like a social rental agency, to oversee the housing exchanges and community support. Alternatively, a specialized team embedded within existing municipal departments might manage the system, streamlining coordination with housing and social services. Another possibility could be adopting a cooperative governance model, involving both elderly and youth residents in decision-making, while retaining municipal oversight—drawing lessons from similar EU-funded initiatives such as the “Yes, We Rent!” project in Catalonia. Each model presents trade-offs between democratic participation, administrative efficiency, and legal complexity and SHARE is currently opting for the option of managing contracts with the support of the Municipal Housing Institute of the Municipality of Fuenlabrada.

Despite these hurdles, SHARE’s foundational efforts are notable. SHARE’s experience also underscores that ambitious social innovation must wrestle not only with architectural and programmatic design but with entrenched legal, financial, and cultural structures. Questions of tenure security, equity, and long-term viability cannot be sidelined if such projects are to move beyond pilot status. Looking ahead, SHARE must navigate these complex realities to fulfill its promise and success will depend on balancing private property rights with public interest, embedding safeguards to preserve affordability and tenure.