Demand for housing in the Basque Country has increased seven times more than the population

The demand forhousing in the Basque Country has increased by seven more than the population because in recent years the family modelhas changed significantly . families are now smaller and more and more people live alone.  

At least this has been explained by the Vice-President and Economic, Labour and Employment Adviser, Mikel Torres, and the Housing and Urban Agenda Counsellor, Denis Itxaso, during thepresentation of the new issue of Ekonomiaz .

Between 2015 and 2023, the population of the Basque Country grew by 1%, while demand for housing increased by 7%. In the same period of time, the housing supply grew by only 1%.

Measures

In order to resolve this situation, the two councillors have advanced that theBasque Government will fight"against empty housing" , on the one hand with tax taxes — "which are producing results," said Itxaso — and, on the other hand, with a surcharge on the property tax on empty housing that does not go to market.

In the same way, elderly people living alone in "two-bedroom or three-bedroom" homes are to be accommodated in well-stocked but smaller dwellings.

In any case, the emphasis has been on the issue of land, recalling that last year theBasque Housing Act 2006was amended to speed up and facilitate urban planning procedures and to limit tourist flats.

In addition, they point out that in municipalities withtense housing areas   "rents have increased and rents have slowed down".