Overview
- Tenant leaders from Alokairu and Stop Desahucios told the Basque Parliament’s Housing Commission that 510 rented VPO homes in Benta Berri lose protected status in 2028 and won support from all parties for a definitive fix.
- Basque Government housing officials are working with the owner, Testa Homes, which is part of Blackstone, on legal options to keep tenants secure after the deadline.
- VPO homes carry rules that cap prices or limit sales to keep rents affordable, so the end of that status can raise costs and weaken tenant safeguards in long-term rentals like Benta Berri.
- In a separate case, EH Bildu said the provincial company Azpiegiturak is blocking a 16-home VPO project in Ea by refusing to cede land the build requires.
- Taken together, the moves highlight a wider test in the Basque Country to protect existing subsidized rentals and grow new supply across a patchwork of private owners and public landholders.