Quantos of vacant properties from the state? Private interestNumber of properties held by the state and private persons

T One of the measures included in the "More Housing" package - which has generated much discussion - concerns the mandatory leasing of unoccupied private homes by the state. Many in the industry and civil society have criticized the fact that the government wants to force private owners to rent properties without the state itself providing an example.

The truth is that no one knows how much state real estate there is in Portugal, and the counting of state real estate has been dragging on for more than a decade. Meanwhile, several private investors have expressed interest in abandoned public real estate, such as hospitals and barracks, which have the potential for housing development in central Lisbon and Porto.

At the presentation of the "More Housing" package, which is under public consultation until March 10, Antonio Costa announced his intention to introduce "compulsory renting" of unoccupied houses, thus complementing already existing measures to tighten taxes for such properties.

The idea is for the state or municipality to rent a house from a private owner and then gift it to families, thus increasing the supply of houses for rent on the market. Here, the socialist government is proposing that families pay rent for housing and pay the owner the proper rent (which will be reduced by the cost of repairs, if any).

Many market experts and opposition parties have spoken out against the measure, saying it is an "attack on private property". Others have also pointed the finger at the government, arguing that the state is not making an example of rehabilitating public real estate to provide more rental housing. A movement has sprung up on social media that seeks to identify abandoned public properties across the country.

An example are two abandoned buildings in Loures, empty for more than 15 years, which the municipality of this city bought for more than 2 million euros in 2017, reports SIC Notícias. Only now the Luresh Municipal Council will start to renovate the buildings to accommodate 45 affordable rental units, 5 dwellings for the integration of people with disabilities and 15 beds within the temporary emergency housing exchange.

But really, how many properties does the state have? And how many of them are vacant and could be rehabilitated? Unknown. The counting of public real estate has been delayed for more than a decade in Portugal, even after Decree No. 280/2007 required a "full accounting of the assets of public real estate". The Ministry of Finance, responsible for coordinating accounting, does not answer the question about the number of real estate owned by the state, writes Expresso.

The Ministry of Housing, however, says that the Institute of Housing and Urban Renovation (IHRU) has more than three thousand dwellings in project or construction, to which will be added more than a thousand vacant or affordable properties that could form the basis for new affordable rental housing, the same newspaper says.

While the exact number of government-owned buildings is unknown, the fact is that several properties have already been identified under the laws as having the potential for affordable housing and rental development (many of which have already been converted and remodeled). And a host of real estate developers and investors are indeed interested in various vacant public properties with potential for housing construction in the center of Lisbon and Porto, reports the publication.

The most attractive abandoned public properties for construction in Lisbon include, for example, the Miguel Bombarda Hospital, the Ministry of Education building on Avenue 5 of October and the GNR barracks in Cabeço de Bola.

Also in Porto, developers have already identified several abandoned government properties that have the potential to be used for housing purposes, the same source reports, such as the former Military Recruiting District building on Avenue de France, the former headquarters of the Ultramarino National Bank on Aliados Avenue and the Military Services building in Massarelos.

It should be recalled that the Initiative of Liberals (IL) recently presented a project based on the possibility of the state to provide empty public property to private individuals. These buildings can then be converted to housing and offered on the affordable rental market for five years, unless it is owned and permanent housing.