\ A response is given to a demand from elderly people who voluntarily choose to live together to live together and help each other.

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Collaborative housing

\ Approval of the decree of the basic portfolio of social services that include the response in the form of benefits and services to the social needs of the population.

The Consell de Govern has today approved the Decree of the Basic Portfolio of Social Services of the Balearic Islands 2023-2027. The Decree determines the set of benefits of the public system of social services provided by the Government of the Balearic Islands.

The Basic Portfolio of Social Services is the Administration’s response to the social changes and new situations of needs that arise in our community through a whole series of services and benefits recognised for citizens and which are described and included in the Decree.

For the first time in the Balearic Islands and also in all the autonomous communities, the so-called collaborative housing is regulated as a new type of residential service for people in a situation of dependency. This is a model already experimented with in different European countries whereby a group of people, on a voluntary basis and generally with a bond of friendship, decide to group together to live together, help each other and jointly face the challenges of ageing and cover their needs through self-management.

Thus, collaborative housing is a new alternative modality to existing models (such as residences, supervised housing, etc.) that integrate private use spaces and communal areas with the aim of developing the inhabitants’ life together, which must be managed by a non-profit organisation with the objective of ensuring the promotion of autonomy and care in situations of dependency for the people who live there.

With this regulation and incorporation into the Portfolio of Social Services, a response has been given to a demand that arose from groups and associations of elderly people who were calling for this new modality and which is in line with European experiences such as the senior co-housing.

People in a situation of dependency who live on this service will be able to access a financial benefit linked to the service. This alternative service to the classic model of residence is compatible with other services provided in the Dependency Act, such as the telecare service and the service for the prevention and promotion of personal autonomy.

For their authorisation and accreditation, the ratios of professionals who must attend to users are set (based on a forecast of 24 hours of service, 365 days a year). The ratios are equal to the staffing needs established for a supervised home and it is facilitated that some of the tasks can be assumed by the people who live there and are not dependent. If this is not the case, they must be covered by contracted staff.

The minimum ratios of the service for collaborative housing with ten places for people with dependency are as follows:

Service manager: 0.25
Caring staff: 5
General services and catering staff: 0,25

The post of service manager may be assumed by one of the residents with a university degree, who will be responsible for the care of the dependent persons and may not have any recognised degree of dependency. The general services and catering positions may be assumed by the people who live there. Otherwise, all of the above positions must be filled by contracted personnel.