Basque Government agrees to buy 510 Benta Berri homes to keep them in protected rental housing

A purchase to prevent the homes from entering the open market

The Basque Government has reached a preliminary agreement with Testa Residencial, which is linked to the Blackstone fund, to acquire the surface rights to 510 protected homes in Benta Berri, Donostia. The announced price is around €100 million, or about €196,000 per home. The Ministry of Housing will contribute €30 million, with the regional government covering the rest.

The aim is to preserve the homes’ public-protection status permanently and keep them designated for protected rental housing. This is intended to prevent them from entering the open market when the current protection period ends. The deal is expected to be signed in late 2026; for now, what has been announced is a preliminary agreement.

The roughly 1,700 residents will be able to remain in their homes, with monthly rents of between €600 and €1,000, according to published information. The deal does not create new homes: it adds existing properties to the public rental housing stock and brings the land and surface rights under public ownership.

The 2028 expiry and the origins of the residents’ campaign

The current regime dates back to 1994, when the Basque Government granted developers surface rights to public land for 75 years, until 2069. The first tenants moved in in 1998, and the homes were given protected status for 30 years, expiring in November 2028.

In early 2026, around 40 tenants received notices that their contracts would not be renewed when they expired. Concern led to a residents’ campaign organized around the Alokairu association and backed by Stop Desahucios. Donostia City Council had also called for a solution for the affected families.

The Minister for Housing and Urban Agenda, Denis Itxaso, said the purchase price was comparable to what it would have cost to build a similar number of homes from scratch. He also noted that 510 rental homes were not available in the city and its surrounding area to rehouse the residents. These are the regional government’s arguments for justifying the deal; the preliminary agreement does not mean that new homes will be added to the housing stock.

What will change and what remains to be settled

The Basque Government already owns the land. By acquiring the surface rights, it aims to bring the land and the buildings under a single public ownership structure and ensure that the homes remain permanently designated for protected rental housing. The agreement therefore aims to extend the public-housing regime beyond the expiry of the current protection period.

The deal is presented as an unusual case in Spain. In Euskadi, new officially protected homes have received permanent status since 2003, but the Benta Berri homes were allocated before that change. The Basque Government has also said it is planning a legal reform that, according to its estimates, could benefit another 500 homes, although that measure is separate from the agreement announced for Benta Berri.

The purchase could expand Donostia’s public rental housing stock and reduce uncertainty about whether residents can stay. Its immediate scope, however, is limited to these 510 homes: it does not add new supply or, by itself, address the city’s housing needs. The final signing and implementation of the agreed terms are the next milestones.