The Basque Government has initiated the procedure to declare Hondarribia a tensioned area

The Department of Housing and Urban Agenda of the Basque Government has initiated the procedure to designate Hondarribia (Gipuzkoa) as a stressed market area, at the request of the city council. The decision is contained in the Order of October 16, 2026, by Minister Denis Itxaso González, and was published in the Official Gazette of the Basque Country on October 28, 2026, under official reference 2026/4541, in the section of other provisions. The starting point has opened a public information period of twenty business days, during which interested parties may submit allegations.

The procedure is processed in accordance with the provisions of Article 18.2 of Law 12/2023 of May 24, on the right to housing, under file number AAAA_ORD_7202/26_09. According to said regulation, the declaration of a stressed area must be made by the administrative authority competent in housing matters, and in this case, the competence lies with the Basque Government, supported by Article 10.31 of the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country, Law 3/2015 on housing, and Decree 411/2024 —which regulates the organic structure of the department—.

The Hondarribia City Council submitted the request to the Department on May 11, 2026, together with documentation analyzing the situation of the municipality:

• Diagnosis and justifying report, for declaration as a stressed area.
• The Hondarribia Housing Plan, which serves as the basis for the declaration.
• A specific plan containing measures to correct imbalances and a development calendar.

Five-year price increase, legal requirement met

The report refers to the April 2025 report of the Basque Government Housing Observatory, and includes two main indicators. The law requires the cumulative price growth to be at least three points higher than the growth of the regional KPI.

• Home purchase price: a 30.5% increase over five years, exceeding the 22.4% limit (the average annual increase of the KPI in the Basque Country was 19.4%).
• Rental price: a 19.7% increase, exceeding the reference limit of 16.6%.

In this regard, the Order states that it has been proven that the condition of letter b) of Article 18.3 of Law 12/2023 is met; that is, the cumulative growth of both purchase and rental prices exceeds the KPI growth by more than three points. Therefore, the Department has decided to initiate the procedure.

Public information and city council hearing

The processing has two parallel paths. On one hand, the second point of the Order sends the procedure to the public information stage, for which publication must be made in both the Official Gazette of the Basque Country and the Official Gazette of the Historical Territory of Gipuzkoa, with a period of twenty business days; the period will be counted from the day following the last of the two publications. On the other hand, the third point establishes the notification to the Hondarribia City Council and the granting of a hearing period of twenty business days to present allegations and documentation.

The justification report and studies will be available at the Directorate of Housing Planning and Operational Processes, at number 1 Donostia-San Sebastián Street (Vitoria-Gasteiz), and on the announcement board of the Basque Government’s electronic office. No appeal lies against this order, as it is a mere procedural step.

What the declarations would change

The law itself specifies that declarations made as stressed areas open the way for applying specific measures, provided that the housing market deficit and the difficulty citizens face in accessing housing are verified. Once the declaration is made, the duration of the stressed area will be three years, and it may be extended annually, following the same procedure, if the reasons persist and the justification for the measures previously taken is presented.

Likewise, the resolution —once the procedure is completed— must be based on the failures of the housing market, and it must be communicated to the Secretary General of Urban Agenda and Housing of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda of the Government of Spain. The Department considers the measure plan presented along with the report to be feasible and appropriate to dry up the imbalances.

It has a direct impact on the municipality: Hondarribia would be added to the first list of stressed areas in the Basque Country, and the next step of the file being processed since May 2026 is to receive allegations from citizens and socio-economic agents, within twenty valid days of public information.

Fuente: Official Gazette of the Basque Country, 2026/4541, October 28, 2026, Section I (other provisions) (official reference: 2026/4541).