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Due to the soaring property prices, the inhabitants of the Basque Country are no longer able to find housing. So, an association decided to buy apartments which it then offers for rent at reasonable prices.
The Basque Country is attracting more and more new inhabitants. But behind the postcard images, there is a very different reality for locals. Indeed, some are no longer able to find housing due to too much real estate pressure. “The situation is becoming dramatic for many households, says Benoît Caussade, agency Director Soliha. Before, it was the precarious, people who had part-time work who could not find housing. Now, some winners twice the minimum wage, so more and more couples and households, are affected.“
TO Ascarat (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), the elect do not give up. In a communal castle, they will transfer the offices of the town hall and build five housing units. Others even prefer to anticipate this problem. In Mauléon-Licharre, 100 km from Biarritz, many accommodations are vacant. Here, the collective Etxalde wants to promote a new concept: he bought six dwellings to rent them out. This good model known in the country Basque is inspired by the intergenerational sharing of the house. Behind all these initiatives, the common goal is to get as many housing units out of the speculative market as possible.