COV (Cooperativa Obrera de Viviendas) is an integral housing, consumer and user cooperative based in El Prat de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.17 It was founded in 1962 to respond to the housing difficulties faced by working families and people arriving in El Prat for employment in the industrial areas around Barcelona.712 The cooperative’s registered office is at Plaça Ramon Roigé i Badia, 3, in El Prat de Llobregat.913
COV focuses on access to decent, affordable and stable housing, with particular emphasis on cooperative rental housing.1 Its activities also include affordable housing rental, commercial premises rental, community and facilities management, and support for organisations in the social and solidarity economy.1 The cooperative provides services and activities to approximately 1,200 members and to the wider community of El Prat.1
COV also promotes cooperative education, social and solidarity economy initiatives, and community participation in the city.1 Its programme includes training workshops, social events, activities addressing Alzheimer’s disease, repair services, nutrition sessions and initiatives supporting youth employment.1 One of its major housing projects comprises 101 officially protected homes, together with parking spaces and storage rooms, on municipally owned land granted for 75 years.11
The organisation is governed by a board of directors elected by the General Assembly.2 Following the 2026 assembly, Antonio Pedrero Utrilla serves as president, Alonso Martínez Carretero as secretary and Enric Dimas Oliveras as treasurer.24 COV’s work is principally local, centred on El Prat de Llobregat, although its housing activities form part of the wider cooperative housing landscape of Catalonia.111
