Government approves More Housing package

The Council of Ministers approved a package of measures to address all aspects of the housing problem, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said at a press conference also attended by Finance Minister Fernando Medina and Housing Minister Marina Gonçalves. The Council of Ministers was entirely dedicated to the housing issue and the measures adopted will be presented for public discussion within a month, after which they will be finally approved, some by the government and some through a draft law in Parliament, at the Council of Ministers meeting on March 16, Antonio Costa said. The Prime Minister emphasized that "housing is an important and pervasive concern of Portuguese society because it concerns all families, not only the most needy, but also young people and middle-class families." "With the More Housing program approved today, we are trying to address all aspects of the problem," Costa added.

Antonio Costa named five major problems and solutions.

The first is to increase the supply of residential real estate. However, he noted that without a site plan amendment or use license, land or buildings permitted for commercial purposes could be used for construction or reconversion to housing. To increase the supply of housing, the state will provide land or buildings for cooperatives or the private sector to build affordable housing, including "two competitions dedicated to construction modeling that significantly reduce construction time and increase energy efficiency. "

The second measure is to simplify licensing processes, including two types of measures: architectural projects are no longer subject to municipal licensing, only a Designers' Liability Statement is issued, and municipal licensing is limited to urbanist requirements; and to impose a financial penalty on public bodies that fail to meet legal deadlines for making findings or decisions.

The third measure is to increase the supply of rental housing, including supporting the confidence of landlords to provide empty apartments on the market through two measures: the state proposes to lease all available apartments on a five-year lease with the possibility of subletting; and it is proposed to amend existing and new lease contracts so that the state can replace a tenant in case of non-payment or evict them.

The fourth measure is the fight against real estate and real estate trade to regulate rents and prevent speculation.

The fifth measure is support for families on rent and mortgages. To help reduce debt, families "shall be allowed an exemption from income tax on the sale of homes to pay off their own mortgages or the home loans of their descendants." It is stated that all financial institutions providing mortgage loans must offer fixed rate mortgages. Support is also created for loans up to 200 thousand euros for families with incomes within the 6th progressive tax scale, the state will reimburse 50% of the interest in the form of a subsidy over and above the maximum amount for which the family was obliged under the stress test when the loan was arranged.

These are just some of the measures that have been presented as part of the new generation of housing policies that have been developed in Portugal since 2016. These policies have created regional strategies at the municipal level, as well as measures to support youth rental housing and increase the supply of residential real estate in the public sector.