Infographic about House Action

Resilient Cities in the face of strained residential markets

19 November 2025 | Tabakalera, Donostia-San Sebastián

Enjoying decent and adequate housing is a right recognized in our current legal framework.

It also establishes a mandate for public authorities to make that right effective. The House Action congress is precisely about this second aspect — about finding ways to make that right a reality. About identifying and sharing the solutions and practices that, at the local, regional, and national levels, are being implemented in the Basque Country, in Spain, and across Europe.

The reality we face in our daily lives is one of increasing difficulty in accessing housing. Rents that consume a substantial share of people’s income, processes of gentrification and the displacement of long-time residents from city centers, or the rising average age of emancipation caused by the continuous increase in housing costs.

What can be done? In Spain, over the past few years, a collaborative solution has been developed between municipalities and regional governments, made possible by Law 12/2023 on the Right to Housing. This solution is structured around the declaration of stressed areas, and the application of rental increase caps within them, to cool down price surges in the market.

Is this the only possible solution? No — and that is the main value of the House Action congress: that experts, representatives of municipalities from Spain and Europe, regional governments, and financial institutions can present and share their visions and experiences in housing policies, as well as the results achieved through their implementation.

Only by bringing together diverse perspectives and the best experiences—many of them tested and refined over decades—can we find a solution to a problem that has long ceased to be individual and has become one that affects society as a whole. And as citizens, we must find collective solutions to it.

Speakers

Full list

Programme

8:30 - 9:00 AM

REGISTRATION AND ACCREDITATION

9:00 - 10:45 AM

INAUGURAL SESSION

Address and remarks on the European Affordable Housing Plan

  • Matthew Baldwin, Deputy Director-General Energy and Head of the Housing Task Force, European Commission

Institutional welcome

  • David Lucas, Secretary of State for Housing and Urban Agenda
  • Eider Mendoza, General Deputy, Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa
  • Denis Itxaso, Regional Minister of Housing and Urban Agenda, Basque Government

Conversation: Innovative housing policies in European capitals

  • Jaume Collboni, Mayor of Barcelona and leader of the “Mayors for Housing” alliance
  • Denis Itxaso, Regional Minister of Housing and Urban Agenda, Basque Government
10:45 - 12:00 PM

ROUND TABLE: APPLYING SOLUTIONS IN STRESSED AREAS

Response from Basque-Navarrese Capitals

  • Maider Etxebarria, Mayor of Vitoria-Gasteiz
  • Juan Mari Aburto, Mayor of Bilbao
  • Jon Insausti, Mayor of Donostia-San Sebastián
  • Joseba Asiron, Mayor of Pamplona
  • Moderator: Miguel de los Toyos, Deputy Regional Minister of Housing, Basque Government
12:00 - 12:30 PM

COFFEE BREAK

12:30 - 12:50 PM

PRESENTATION: CHALLENGES FOR PROMOTING AN AFFORDABLE RESIDENTIAL MARKET

  • José García Montalvo, Professor and Economist
12:50 - 14:00 PM

ROUND TABLE: IMPACT OF CAPITALS ON METROPOLITAN AREAS

  • Amaia del Campo, Mayor of Barakaldo
  • Cristina Laborda, Mayor of Irun
  • David Quirós, Mayor of Hospitalet de Llobregat
  • Candelaria Testa, Mayor of Alcorcón
  • Aizpea Otaegi, Mayor of Errenteria
  • Moderator: Azahara Domínguez, Deputy for Mobility, Tourism and Spatial Planning of Gipuzkoa
14:00 - 15:00 PM

LUNCH BREAK

15:00 - 16:00 PM

PARALLEL SESSIONS

Room 1 – Technical Panel: Data for Public Action in Housing

  • Julien Dijol, Deputy Secretary General & Policy Director of Housing Europe
  • Aleix Arcarons, Co-director of O-HB, Barcelona Metropolitan Housing Observatory
  • Mario Yoldi, Basque Housing Observatory. Director of Planning and Operational Processes, Basque Government
  • Stephanie Jankel, Urban planner and Director of Studies at APUR
  • Javier Martín, Director General of Housing and Land
  • Moderator: Eva Silván, Political scientist, director of Silván & Miracle

Room 2 – Residential Exclusion and Social Action in Stressed Areas

  • Eduardo Gutiérrez Sanz, General Director, Provivienda
  • Rubén Méndez, spokesman for the Sareen Sarea Housing Commission
  • Elga Molina, Director General of Housing, Government of Navarra
  • Patricia Val, General Director, Alokabide, Basque Government
  • Moderator: Aloña Velasco, Journalist
16:00 - 17:00 PM

PARALLEL SESSIONS

Room 1 – International Policies in Public Housing

  • Maider Arosteguy, Mayor of Biarritz
  • Veronika Iwanowski, International Affairs Manager, Wiener Wohnen
  • Richard Ronald, Professor of Housing and Chair of Political and Economic Geographies, University of Amsterdam
  • Pablo García Astrain, Director of Housing, Land and Architecture, Basque Government
  • Moderator: Aloña Velasco, Journalist

Room 2 – Innovation in Housing Financing: Public-Private Collaboration

  • Antonio Bandrés, Head of International Corporate Finance, ICO
  • María Romano, Head of the Madrid Office of the European Investment bank (EIB)
  • Javier Burón, Manager, Nasuvinsa, Government of Navarra
  • César Cantalapiedra, Partner and Director of Public Finance, AFI
  • Moderator: Patxi Arratibel, Chief of Staff, Department of Housing and Urban Agenda
17:00 - 18:15 PM

ROUND TABLE: REGIONAL LEGISLATIVE REFORMS

  • Begoña Alfaro, Third Vice-President and Regional Minister for Housing, Youth and Migration Policies, Government of Navarra
  • Silvia Paneque, Regional Minister of Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition, Government of Catalonia
  • Ovidio Zapico González, Regional Minister Territorial Planning, Urban Development, Housing, and Citizen Rights, Government of Principality of Asturias
18:15 - 18:30 PM

INSTITUTIONAL CLOSING

  • Isabel Rodríguez, Minister of Housing and Urban Agenda, Government of Spain
  • Denis Itxaso, Regional Minister of Housing and Urban Agenda, Basque Government

Tabakalera

📍 Pl. de las Cigarreras, 1, 20012

Donostia-San Sebastian, Gipuzkoa

https://www.tabakalera.eus/en/