A new community regulation regarding the modification of accommodation in furnished tourist accommodations was presented, but it was not discussed at the Community Council of the Basque Country in Bayonne. It was approved by 176 votes with 44 abstentions, and four against.
After the interim Pau court decision on June 3 to suspend the March 5 regulation, the subject was brought back before the Agglomeration council.
Jean-Rene Etchegaray (president of the Basque Country Agglomeration Community) justified the decision to present a regulation that takes into consideration elements retained by an administrative judge in order to suspend the March 5th adopted one. "We appealed against the decision in summary proceedings by the Council of State. He will not make a decision for many months. The administrative tribunal hearing the merits of the case won't take place before eight months, or even a year.
In order to speed up implementation of the regulation, it was decided to review certain elements of the wording as pointed out by the judge in Chambers and to submit a new text.
It was adopted and should be in force on March 1, 2023. It is subject to the outcome of a second appeal. Basque elected officials however have decided to continue their work on housing, which is unanimously considered critical. They make use of the tools at their disposal to stop speculation.
Many consider this a necessary approach, even though it may not be sufficient. Roland Hirigoyen (vice-president in charge housing) pointed out. We also need to improve rent control. Our parliamentarians should work with us to pass a tax reform that does not favor seasonal rentals. We are not there yet.
