The Chair is an initiative of the UPC, the UPF, the UB, the UAB, the Government of Catalonia (through the Housing Agency of Catalonia) and the Barcelona City Council. 

The Barcelona Chair of Housing Studies is the result of an effort to bring together local and national academic talent from disciplines such as law, economics and achitecture. It was created for the purpose of promoting teaching, research and knowledge transfer in the field of public policies on housing and rehabilitation.

To do so, the Chair aims to create Spain's first official master's degree in Housing. Additionally, it will organise workshops and postgraduate courses and produce academic reports and papers to participate in national and international competitive research projects. Finally, the Barcelona Chair of Housing Studies will provide the context to produce policy papers to advise public administrations and to organise conferences and seminars for the transfer of the knowledge.

The Government of Catalonia and the Barcelona City Council, through the Housing Agency of Catalonia, will sign the agreement to regulate and establish the conditions for launching the Chair. The Spanish Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda will sign it subsequently. The Barcelona City Council and the four public universities in the Barcelona area will work on defining the agreement so that all parties can approve it later.