The Official Gazette of Bizkaia publishes on Tuesday the decision of the City Council of Bilbao not to grant a license for the start-up of tourist apartments for a year.
The measure was approved on October 30 by the municipal government team. Its objective is that the General Plan of Urban Planning be maintained "cautelarly" until housing figures are regulated and new tourist apartments are banned for one year.
The City of Bilbao has already communicated its decision to the Department of Tourism, Trade and Consumption of the Basque Government, where the new applications are registered.
Until last October, 1,036 tourist apartments had been registered in Bilbao, to which must be added those who are not licensed and the tourist apartments – those that are specifically for tourist activity. This figure shows how stressed the city is.
The tourist apartments reduce the offer of rented housing in an "accessible" way and also accelerate the eviction process of tenants "by not being able to assume new prices"
According to a study carried out by Ekologistak Martxan last July, in four specific areas of Bilbao 67% of the tourist apartments are concentrated.
They concluded that tourist apartments reduce the offer of rented housing in an "accessible" way and also accelerate the eviction process of tenants, "because they cannot assume new prices".
In May, several residents' associations tabled a motion at the Bilbao City Hall to limit tourist apartments and demand a "moratorium". The petition did not go ahead in the municipal plenary, but the Government of Aburto has "committed" to take action in this regard. It now seems that it has imposed that de facto moratorium.
On December 14, the housing unions of Euskal Herria organized a demonstration in Bilbao in favor of a "free and quality housing".