The owners of about 15,000 houses and apartments could face a payment of €10 per square meter.
What happened? The government of the Basque Country has approved a decree on vacant housing in the autonomous community, which will come into force immediately after publication in the Official Gazette of the Basque Country (BOPV), reports profile portal Idealista.
Details. Owners of houses and apartments that have been vacant continuously for more than two years without a valid reason will have to pay an additional tax of €10 per square meter of property. This fee will increase by 10% for each year that the house remains uninhabited, up to a maximum of €30 per square meter.
Context. According to a recent study by the government of the Basque Country, about 20,000 houses and apartments are empty in the region, equivalent to 2% of the housing stock.
