Denis Itxaso, the Basque Government's Minister for Housing and Urban Agenda, positively evaluated the announcement made yesterday by the Errenteria City Council to implement the Urgent Measures Law on Housing, Land, and Urban Planning, approved in December by the Basque Parliament. This regulation is one of the regional executive's key achievements in housing during the first part of the legislature.
Itxaso stressed that this step "confirms that housing policy in Euskadi is advancing on a broad, shared, and increasingly effective path," highlighting that the tools promoted by the Basque Government are being progressively adopted by municipalities of various political leanings. "Tense areas are being applied by City Councils of all colors. New urban planning tools and public-private financing formulas are being embraced across diverse municipal realities. This demonstrates that we have a useful policy that addresses a real problem," he added.
The minister reiterated that a fundamental objective of the Urgent Measures Law was precisely to provide greater flexibility and autonomy to local councils and urban developments, allowing for the adaptation of parameters such as buildability or protected housing percentages to unblock areas that had been paralyzed for decades.
In this regard, Itxaso cited the Gamongoa area in Errenteria as an example, where the new regulation will transform a blocked situation into a real development opportunity. The current planning envisioned 690 homes, which had not been feasible until now. However, with the new tools, buildability will increase by 10% to reach 755 homes, the protected housing percentage will be adjusted below 70%, and the economic viability of the operation will be achieved, a prerequisite for its development.
As the minister explained, "this is exactly what we meant when we said that 75% of zero is zero: setting high percentages is useless if the land is not developed. Today, we are moving from a completely paralyzed area to a project that will see the light of day." Itxaso also emphasized that this operation does not reduce the total volume of protected housing but rather facilitates its effective realization.
Following Thursday's announcement, the Department of Housing and Urban Agenda has already conveyed its willingness to collaborate with the Errenteria City Council on the development of public initiative protected housing in this area. It is noteworthy that this action will also be among the first to feed the Basque Government's strategic land reserve, enable the activation of the Social Housing Fund, and apply the Priority Action Project mechanism, which reduces timelines and speeds up processing.
Finally, Itxaso asserted that such initiatives demonstrate that Euskadi is entering a new phase in housing matters. "We said that the housing problem had a solution. And today we are closer to proving it. We are doing it with new tools, institutional collaboration, and a realistic vision that turns blocked land into possible homes," the minister stated. Responding to journalists' questions, Itxaso commented that "EH Bildu has gone from labeling this law a counter-reform to leading the procession." He concluded by expressing confidence that more municipalities will follow this path, thus consolidating an "effective, pragmatic, and results-oriented" housing policy.
