Social Housing at affordable prices in Lugano

A stretch of land recognised by the city for its social housing project has decided to create a cooperative to participate in the public competition, which has been organised by the Civic Palace - the competition will be open until November.. The Christian Social Organisation of Ticino has a vision and is keen to make it known, so that those interested can be part of it. ‘We have already found some partners, for example associations and union members who would like to live in a stable environment along witha stable future - says Aldo Ragusa, cantonal administrative secretary of the OCST - and in September we will propose a public evening’.

The idea is in line with the municipal announcement, is to allocate a number of apartments to members of the cooperative. ‘They will have to commit to a small initial capital, which in any case is less than that necessary to activate a bank loan for the purchase of a house and which would be returned in the event of leaving the cooperative’. The other apartments will be open to all citizens, obviously with an income within certain limits. The social Christian will lead of the cooperative and act as guarantor with the banks. ‘We have an agreement in principle with a credit institution - Ragusa anticipates - The meaning of these initiatives, not widespread in our latitudes, is to save on the builder’s earnings and thus guarantee rents accessible to tenants’.

But what kind of building would it be? The area is particularly valuable.- We would like a building that fits well into the context and that respects the energy saving criteria. It must be something beautiful, but without waste, with large and light rooms for common use’. As for the people who will live there, the union would like to be able to host a diverse group of tenants in terms of age, social background and family composition. The vision is therefore clear, all that remains is to participate in the public competition. The cooperative will however be established in any case and may also act on other land. For the Via Lambertenghi project, the Town Hall has set specific stakes.

It is also necessary to respect the municipal regulation for the allocation of housing, ‘but this could create a problem: if a member falls within the parameters today and one day, thanks perhaps to a promotion or a new job, he / she no longer re-enters, he could be forced to leave the apartment. However - concludes our interlocutor - we should be faced with a rather high taxable income to fall back into this circumstance’.

The formula of the housing cooperative is less widespread in Ticino than in the rest of Switzerland. Why? According to Monique Bosco-von Allmen, founder in 2017 and president of the Ticino section of the Swiss housing cooperatives, the cause is a mix of historical, cultural and institutional factors. ‘The will exists, but being able to start projects is another matter - our interlocutor explained to us - So in Tegna there is the cooperative Viv Insema, whose construction project will start shortly after being blocked for a long time by appeals. In Lugano there is Il Domani, which is looking for a suitable property, and the Emmy residence, a cooperative founded by a group of women 60 years ago. And the Cam’on cooperative was recently founded in Mendrisiotto. So the interest is there’.