The principle of a cohousing community is a group of houses or apartments, either spread around certain common spaces or town houses, as well as in vertical building, generally designed in collaboration with its residents. They are homes like any other house, with the ability to resell to recover the investments made and also obtain benefits from its eventual increase of value, as any other property. Additionally, some other ways of its use can be seen, such as the transfer of use by periods of 10, 15, 30 years, etc. and even for regular rent. It will always depend on the structure, the will and financial capacity of its members. Some communities of this type can also benefit from the incentives that the Administration has determined.

This group of houses should be provided with common areas for recreation and community activities.Its purpose is to avoid isolation, encouraging people living alone to develop an active and important role in the community, with neighborhood spirit but also with privacy when desired. The houses should be designed with individual kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms and living rooms, like any other use. Usually, cohousing houses or apartments are slightly smaller than conventional ones, because the space is used more efficiently. The common areas are designed to be the center of the community, used by all residents. Communal living rooms and kitchens allow the community to have parties and gatherings. Common areas are usually larger, with services and facilities that do not exist in individual homes. These services may include care facilities for children, playground, library, laundry, music room, gym, pool, TV room, multipurpose room and craft workshops. They may also include garden, allotments, children's outside area and walking areas.

The community is formed by all residents, who assume the responsibility for management and maintenance of buildings and public spaces. Residents are actively involved in various working groups. A monthly rate allows the community to buy the necessary supplies or pay the jobs that require hiring outside professionals. A board of direction formed by rotating or elected office is chosen in order to avoid any individual management. Many cohousing experiences show that active participation of residents since the beginning of the project contributes to unite and strengthen community ties. Working together with active participation in the design and development of a cohousig project is very useful to create a strong community feeling. In cohousing nobody is forced to participate. Residents participate because they want to, according to their time, capabilities and desires. A current idea according to the concept of sustainability, is to promote design and use of energy efficient materials. Some cohousing units use renewable energy sources or its design and solar orientation of the houses in order to save it.Recycling can also be integrated into these communities; this happens to be very interesting nowadays, both for economy for the future community as to obtain the Administration approval for the project implementation, as well as for its possible subsidies or taxes.