Vitoria opens the process to convert ground-floor commercial premises into housing

The Plenary of the Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council initially approved, in an ordinary session on October 23, 2026, the municipal ordinance for the conversion of commercial premises into housing and workshop-housing on the ground floor within the municipality. The agreement is published in the Official Gazette of the Historical Territory of Álava (BOTHA) number 126, corresponding to Monday, November 2, 2026, in section II of Local Administration, with the official reference 2026-03065. The regulation now enters the public information phase and will only become final if no claims or suggestions are submitted within the open period.

Initial approval and exhibition of the file

The announcement, signed by the General Secretariat of the Plenary, details that the file is available to any interested party at the San Martín municipal offices, at Pintor Teodoro Dublang 25, ground floor, in Vitoria-Gasteiz. There, the complete documentation may be examined and any claims deemed appropriate may be submitted.

The procedure is supported by Article 203 of the Organic Regulation of the Plenary, which regulates the public exhibition of plenary agreements of a regulatory nature before their final approval.

• Deciding body: the Plenary of the Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council.
• Date of agreement: ordinary session of October 23, 2026.
• Publication of the announcement: BOTHA no. 126, of November 2, 2026.
• Consultation location: San Martín municipal offices, Pintor Teodoro Dublang 25, ground floor.
• Deadline for allegations: 30 business days from publication.

Allegations and entry into force

The ordinance is currently in the provisional approval phase. During the period of 30 business days, owners, developers, neighborhood associations, and any other interested person may submit claims or suggestions regarding the text.

If no allegations are registered, the agreement will be definitively approved without the need for a new plenary pronouncement, as expressly stated in the municipal announcement. Should there be any, the file must return to the Plenary for resolution before final approval and the publication of the articulated text.

The document was signed in Vitoria-Gasteiz on October 23, 2026, by the mayor Maider Etxebarria García, and the document incorporates the electronic seal of the Provincial Council of Álava, with a signing date of November 2, 2026.

A session with several urban planning regulations

The ordinance on premises and workshop-housing shares the plenary session with other regulatory agreements published in the same issue of the gazette, including the initial approval of the modification of the local ordinance on non-tax public heritage provision for the municipal services of the integrated water cycle for the 2027 and 2028 fiscal years, with reference 2026-03066 and the same 30-business-day public exhibition period.

In both cases, the procedure is identical: initial approval by the Plenary, publication of the announcement in the BOTHA, opening of the public information process, and final approval if there are no neighborhood or institutional objections.

Impact on the city

The regulation of the conversion of commercial premises into housing and of workshop housing on the ground floor directly affects the city’s built environment and the owners of commercial ground-floor units, who will have a municipal regulatory framework to change the use of those spaces. The full text can only be consulted in the municipal file, so the allegations period is the practical way to understand its scope before the regulation becomes final.

Source: Official Gazette of the Historical Territory of Álava, no. 126, of November 2, 2026, section II, page 1 (official reference: 2026-03065).