Housing

The Basque Government will approve tomorrow, with the Decree on Urgent Measures , the "social shield" in the area of housing .  Among other things, the fee to be received by the owners will be 700 euros and higher in tense areas. 

The new decree that the Basque Government will adopt on Tuesday in the Governing Council will involve the implementation of a wide range of housing policy measures, developing the general lines announced in recent months. Among the measures, the conditions for converting premises into housing will be made more flexible, which will allow, according to the Government's estimates, about 7,500 premises to change their use inthe Basque Country.

The last Sociometer of the Basque Government shows an increase in concern for precariousness and economic problems, while the concern for crime is reduced.

Pablo Bustinduy's Ministry considers that the real estate agency has committed six very serious and serious infringements "in the exercise of market dominance" by violating the rights of consumers.

Thus, the Basque Country is the third most expensive community in Spain, with an average cost of EUR 2,631 per square metre.

The Housing and Urban Agenda Counsellor of the Basque Government has stressed on Radio Euskadi that "the City Council is rethinking some of the operations". Denis Itxaso has stressed that "deadlines must be speeded up because we are not in Donostia to wait any longer".

The need for affordable housing is particularly evident in the capitals and large towns, and almost eight out of ten people who sign up for Etxebide are looking for rent.

The increase has been higher in second-hand housing, which has increased by 12.7 per cent, while new housing has increased by 10.4 per cent, according to INE data.

The second repeal of the Decree has lifted the suspension of evictions of vulnerable families, as well as other fiscal and business measures, the main ones contained in the Social Protection Decree.

The rejected rule introduced a novelty compared to the repealed one month ago: the suspension of evictions would not apply to owners with two or fewer dwellings, a concession agreed by the Government with the PNV.

With the change in the financing of the payment of the municipalities of the Basque Country, the municipalities will be able to start granting aid from the beginning of the year.

At an event in Bilbao to discuss housing, the PNV has stressed that the right path is to increase aid and construction and reduce bureaucracy. Its spokesman, Joseba Díez Antxustegi, has stressed that this is a complex challenge that does not have a single solution, but that the PNV is working to ensure access to housing for those who want to live on rent or property.

The Housing and Urban Agenda Counsellor of the Basque Government has pointed out that, although the discrepancies are channelled, the lehendakari and he have to speak, and that they will meet this week, and has reminded the leader of the PNV EBB, Aitor Esteban, that the problem is about to be resolved and that pressure is not beneficial.

EH Bildu stresses that the most serious problem in the Basque Country and the main concern of the citizens is housing  and criticizes the fact that the Government does not have the housing policy that the situation requires. 

Hamid and his family made several attempts to rent a flat in Mataró. Despite the conditions, they were always denied.

The mayor of Donostia-San Sebastián has refused to enter into the "uproar" created around the Loiola housing project and has said that "alliances are essential." With regard to the dissemination of data on the origin of detainees, he has stressed that it is up to the government to define security policy.

Despite criticism, the Housing Counsellor has said that the PNV-PSE coalition government is "working" and that this legislature has been left behind by the "big discrepancies" in housing policy in the past.

The matter has been discussed in plenary at the request of EH Bildu. The original initiative of the coalition has been rejected in the vote, as has an amendment by Sumar, while an amendment by the PNV and the PSE-EE has been adopted. The proposal by EH Bildu called for a register of the great possessors, whether I am the most legal natural person, such as those in Navarre or Catalonia.

Thus, 14 municipalities in the Basque Country have already been declared strained housing areas, which may be followed by Arrasate, Zestoa, Pasaia and Basauri. 

The Housing Counsellor has announced that pilot projects will be launched this year to implement the Emergency Measures Act, which provides for the mobilization of 1,000 protected official housing units, 525 of them in Portugalete.