Nearly six out of ten residents in Gipuzkoa now live in areas with rental price limits, following the recent addition of Arrasate, Pasaia, and Zestoa to the list of municipalities declared as stressed residential market areas. This designation will enable these three localities to implement a range of actions to control rental prices and enhance citizen protection regarding housing access.
With these new additions, Gipuzkoa now has 13 municipalities in this situation, representing 57.5% of its population, a total of 374,455 inhabitants. Across Euskadi as a whole, 17 localities have been declared stressed areas, impacting over 1,100,000 residents, which is 54% of the Basque population.
“"Access to housing is currently one of the main factors of inequality, and institutions have a responsibility to act decisively. This plan is not just a technical document: it is a political commitment to guarantee the right to housing for the citizens of Pasaia."
Collectively, the three municipalities plan to promote approximately 1,500 new homes in the coming years, a figure that could rise to nearly 1,800 if all planned urban potential is developed. Furthermore, all of them are exploring the possibility of applying a vacant housing fee to bring more properties onto the rental market.
In Arrasate, rental prices increased by 23.9% between 2017 and 2022. The municipality plans to develop new protected housing and mobilize existing stock. Pasaia faces high residential pressure with rental increases of 23.3% in recent years and a scarcity of land for new developments. Zestoa, meanwhile, has experienced a demographic growth of 22.6% and possesses significant potential to mobilize vacant housing, with 20.6% of homes having no registered residents.
