Cooperativas 1ª Habitação is a municipal housing initiative launched by the Lisbon City Council in 2024 to address the acute shortage of accessible homes in the city. The program breaks from decades of municipal inaction by offering small plots of city-owned land to housing cooperatives under 90-year surface rights. The objective is to enable construction of non-profit, owner-occupied dwellings at cost price, targeting families and young people with intermediate incomes who have found themselves excluded from the overheated property market.
The program’s first project broke ground in Lumiar, where the Cooperative JHLX – Jovens Habitam Lisboa was granted land to build 18 units, with a total projected investment of 3.83 million euros. Unit prices range from 146,000 euros for a one-bedroom to 289,000 euros for a three-bedroom apartment. Subsequent competitions for cooperative developments have been launched in Benfica (12 units), Arroios (15), São Vicente (21), and Santa Clara (23). Across all announced locations, an initial pipeline of about 500 homes has been identified, mostly on centrally located, underused city lots. Projects emphasize quality construction and proximity to public transport.
The municipality bears the costs for urbanization works and some pre-construction studies, while cooperatives handle building expenses. Criticism has focused on the program’s limited scale, rigid typologies, and financing barriers, though it nonetheless represents a significant reactivation of cooperative housing solutions in Lisbon and contributes to a more mixed urban fabric.