Erandio: 204 homes and a disputed plot since 2015

Erandio: 204 homes, a plot, and twelve days to rewrite the land registry

How long does a local administration take to transfer a plot of land to someone else without purchasing it? Twelve calendar days. This is the figure at the heart of one of Erandio Goikoa's most tenacious urban planning disputes. This area, straddling Bilbao and the coast, is the starting point of litigation that has been dragging on since August 2015. The owner of land inherited from a builder great-uncle claims that the developer Jaureguizar acquired 1,500 square meters that did not belong to them to build the Berri Goikoa and Erandio Goikoa developments. Nine years later, the legal battle continues.

Annex C: How a plot changes ownership in the land registry

According to the affected party's account, the company was short 1,500 square meters to finalize its deal. Instead of buying them, it allegedly presented the deeds for an adjacent plot of 17,000 square meters to the land registry. The City Council then allegedly issued the so-called Annex C, a document that, in twelve calendar days, transferred the land to the developer. This was trinc by the subdivision into two plots and the municipal license. All of this is based on the complainant's version; none of these actions have been definitively proven.

The business accounts: 204 homes from 142,000 euros

The affected party himself posed the question: 204 homes with a starting price, according to the development, of 142,000 euros plus VAT, and without a prior lottery. Conservatively, and according to his own calculation, the figure is around 28 million euros. This is not an auditable calculation—the actual breakdown of square meters, quality, and timelines is missing—but it indicates the magnitude of what was at stake. The question that looms over the matter is not how much was built, but how much of that land was someone else's.

Debris, 200 trucks, and an inspection that took nine months

The second front is environmental. The owner claims that between 2,000 and 3,000 cubic meters of debris, fill material, and demolition waste were buried on his plot, with an estimated 200 truckloads for transport. After nine months of insistence, the Basque Government agreed to inspect the plot; according to his testimony, the inspectors' report barely noted the presence of two stones. He also suspects that the remains from the demolition of the San Sebastián Clinic, documented as being stored in Astut, ended up under his land. This is unconfirmed.

Nine years, Madrid law firms, and a 30-kilo suitcase

The judicial route has consumed almost a decade. There was a preliminary hearing scheduled for March 25th after a six-month wait, changes of lawyers, a complaint filed with the Bar Association against the first lawyer, and finally, the hiring of a Madrid-based firm. The affected party claims to now have the property registry and the City Council "in check." Along the way, a 30-kilo suitcase of documentation he has been carrying for years and the realization that administrations take longer to respond than to act.

The project that collapsed on its own: the announced refund of 15,000 euros

In June 2024, as reported by El Correo, the developer's cooperative project in Erandio—70 subsidized housing units (VPO) and 78 municipally appraised apartments—fell through before construction began. The cooperative committed to refund 15,000 euros deposit to each of the nearly 90 families who had reserved a unit. The lawsuit, meanwhile, continues.

The ending no one signs

According to the complainant, the Erandio land registry took twelve days to change the ownership of a plot. Reversing it has already taken him over three thousand. In between, two administrations passing the buck, a developer still standing, and debris that no one has rushed to investigate. If this peine on the Costa del Sol, it would be front-page news. As it's in Bizkaia, it's just paperwork.