Bilbao will charge €10 per square metre per year Uninhabited dwellings for more than two years
The City Council will implement the measure from 2027 and process an ordinance to allocate 1,565 unused homes to the rental market.
The Bilbao City Councilwill impose an annual fee of 10 euros per useful square metreon dwellings that have remained empty for more than two years, starting in 2027, that is, dwellings that have remained empty for more than two years. The Housing Department plans to adopt the Act in the first months of the year, which will be integrated into the new Municipal Ordinance, the main objective of which is to promote empty dwellings to the rental market.
Theregulation will be based on Decree 149/2021of 8 June on empty housing of the Basque Government and will aim to respond to the growing housing crisis in the city.
Housing Councilor Yolanda Díez has explained that keeping homes empty means "wasting resources and failing to fulfil the social function of housing "and has stressed that the development of this ordinance was one of the commitments contained in the government agreement.
Empty dwellings
According to the City Council, there are at least 6,935 empty dwellings inBilbao, which account for 4.2% of the city's housing stock, of which 1,565 dwellings are estimated to have been empty for two or more years, making them the priority objective of this initiative.
The City Council clarifies that this inventory is merely a diagnostic tool and that no dwelling will be officially declared empty until the entry into force of the ordinance and compliance with the requirements of the law is verified, and that the City Council will launch an information and awareness-raising campaign aimed especially at homeowners.
Promotion of rent
Through these measures, the City Council intends to increase the supply of housing in the city, declared a tense area since October 2025.
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