Constitutional guarantees and private law instruments in the field of property and adequate housing

Abstract

This article analyzes the asymmetric relationship between property rights and the right to adequate housing. Drawing on the case law of the Spanish Constitutional Court, it examines the constitutional limits on public interventions in the housing sphere, with particular attention to competence-related and procedural guarantees and to the proportionality test, which requires verification of suitability, necessity, and proportionality stricto sensu (balancing) for any restriction on ownership. The article identifies alternative private-law instruments —especially temporary and shared ownership under the Catalan Civil Code— together with housing cooperatives operating under right-of-use schemes. It concludes by underscoring the need to establish the institutional, financial, and registration frameworks required for these mechanisms to operate effectively.