Chambers launch projects but response remains insufficient

The housing crisis has been on the agenda and ‘forced’ the city councils and the government to try to respond to this problem that insists on not seeing light at the bottom of the tunnel. The money for the construction of new houses was awarded in the famous Bazuca, but the executive eventually transferred these projects to other sources of financing so as not to risk not being able to execute them in time. And in the recent request for reprogramming to Brussels, the Government said that these changes « do not decrease the scope of the projects » provided for, stating that « from the 6,800 houses of the affordable housing park, 3,300 will maintain the funding PRR (recovery and resilience plan), and the rest to be funded through a loan from the European Bank of Investment (bei). »

This problem of lack of housing is not just a Portuguese problem, hence the European Parliament has created a special commission on the European Union Housing Crisis, « a special committee that aims to propose solutions to a condominium, sustainable and at a dedicated comportable housing to face the current housing crisis throughout the European Union. »

With a duration of one year, ‘the committee will work intensively in mapping housing needs, particularly for low and medium income groups, as well as assess the economic impact of housing scarcity on issues such as poverty, inequality and social exclusion.’

Admittedly, on the side of the municipalities, some answers in terms of supply will be given, but as much as they multiply in solutions are always short of the needs. One of these examples is the Lisbon City Council, which, at the end of last year, approved the first municipal housing letter, which defines a 10 -year plan to increase the supply of public housing, with an investment of 900 million euros and goals such as the construction of three thousand new houses by 2028. The mayor even mentioned that the idea is to “urbanize public lands, such as the Pinto couple and the Vale de Santo, and to allocate land, and to allocate land, and to allocate land, and to allocate land, and to allocate land, and to allocate land, and to allocate land, and to allocate land, and to allocate land, and to allocate land, and to allocate land, and to allocate land and destined land, and to allocate land, and to allocate land and all the grounds and to allocate land. Capacity for 500 cooperative houses, among other essential measures to realize the ambitious priorities established by the new times: to increase and improve the supply of public housing, reduce asymmetries in access to housing and regenerate the forgotten city.
At the sunrise, the source of the municipality recalls that the Municipal Housing Charter defines three priorities of action: increase and improve housing supply, reduce asymmetries in access to housing and regenerate the forgotten city. «The first group of measures encompasses all homes buildings, housing rehabilitation, purchase of housing buildings, etc. The second group of measures encompasses all access programs for municipal housing – lease supported for the most needy, accessible income for the middle classes and lease allowance, as well as other specific measures for displaced professionals and the third group of measures encompasses all regenerations of zones with empty municipal land, degraded areas or unlawful or unlawful dwellings in the register, etc. », he explains.

What is underway
The Urbanization Plan of the Santo António Valley in Lisbon is one of these cases and promises to be a new neighborhood within the city. The intervention will be made in the parishes of São Vicente and Penha de França, totaling 48 hectares. The plan that, according to the municipality’s accounts, will represent a total investment of 750 million euros, to be made in a 12 -year horizon, provides for the construction of an urban park, three kilometers of cycling network and 2,400 affordable houses.
Another example is the project in Entrecampos, in Lisbon, in a total area of ​​25 hectares, promising a new centrality in the capital. The investment is around 800 million euros, of which 100 million are the responsibility of the municipality. The project foresees urbanization works, existing streets rehabilitation and the construction of social and cultural equipment, as well as the creation of green areas.
Another bet will be at Matinha. Located in the Ribeirinha de Marvila Front, between Parque das Nações and the Historic Zone of Lisbon, this project transforms an area that has been abandoned for over 25 years. The project aims to revive the area, but also restore the connection between the city and the Tagus River. Expectedly in 2026 will create, in total, 830 new housing in Lisbon, 26 thousand square meters of new commercial and leisure spaces.

The same example is being followed by Porto. The municipality at the beginning of the year tore off with the construction of another five accessible housing blocks in Lordelo do Ouro, building C, which involves an investment of 4.5 million euros and adds to the 91 housing already under construction. In all, 291 houses will be built, involving more than 60 million euros in the immediate vicinity of the neighborhoods Pinheiro Torres, Mouteira and Constras.
Also the former Armed Forces building in Porto will give way to 40 houses intended for affordable lease – initially the number of fireworks was 36. In fact, this building is part of a defense real estate package that, in 2021, moved into the state’s private sphere, with the objective of being converted to 1,379 affordable lease. There are other buildings in Porto, Lisbon and Oeiras waiting for the same intervention. However, these are some examples of what is being done by the cameras to respond to the housing problem in our country with a special focus on large cities.

The controversy of numbers
Another of the solutions that pointed out to solve the housing problem concerns the state’s ‘forgotten’ properties. In 2022, the state had 717 vacant properties in its possession. A year later, after the approval of the More Housing Program, the Ministry of Socialist Housing reported identifying more than four thousand vacant properties with housing aptitude, including land and buildings.

But it is difficult to see how many properties there are in full because an inventory was requested in 2007 by José Sócrates, but this correct count never happened and what is known is that these numbers are recorded in several dispersed databases.

At birth, Isaltino Morais, mayor of Oeiras, classifies the numbers of ‘fallacy’. «There are some pallets to say that there are 700,000 empty houses, but it’s a lie. I have three in Trás-os-Montes, do you want to go there to live? ”He jokes. And continues: « If we send these types of the left block to live to the unoccupied houses in Trás-os-Montes, they should walk satisfied. »

« Really, » he says, 700,000 homes, « but many of them are unable to be inhabited, nor are they in the metropolitan areas. » To get an idea, the mayor continues in the 1960s and 70s, “in these 20 years, more houses have been built than in the next 50 years. These people only use statistics for what they want, 40% of these houses are totally degraded to need works. Therefore, what will remain from these 700 thousand homes? Of course the state has some, the camera does not have, but this is a drop of water in the ocean to the needs the country has. That was the argument that was used until six months ago. In the last six months, even the Left Block has said that it is necessary to do public housing, new construction ».
Isaltino Morais gives some ideas of what needs to be done. “A year ago, I was saying that it was necessary to do public housing, it was the only one, there was no one else to say that. Everyone said it was necessary to lower the taxes, it was necessary to end the Gold Visas, but that does not revolve anything we need more houses because, at this moment, we have another 1.5 million inhabitants immigrants », remembering that there are apartments of 50 square meters, where 20 to 30 people sleep. « Does this have any dignity? » He asks, confessing to receive every day « families who say they will be dumped because he has no money to pay the income or because the landlord wants to increase his income and so on. But the generality of political parties already speak of new public housing. There is no solution without new buildings ”(see interview on pages 36 to 38).

Solution in sight?
What is certain is that governments have been trying to do the vacant properties to create new dwellings.

The AD government wanted to « implement a strategy that aims to monetize public properties that are (or will be) unoccupied » and, therefore, last year, put for sale state buildings without housing aptitude, defining a list of 19 public properties that aimed to sell this year (see infographics next).

In this list, it is known that many properties were free due to the transfer of ministries and other public entities to Campus XXI between 2024 and 2026. The building for sale that is with the largest area located on Avenida 24 July, having been occupied by the General Directorate of Education and Science Statistics (17,514 m2). Another property is the building occupied by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, in Campo de Ourique.

Shortly before this announcement, the government had also announced the signing of an agreement with municipalities to reuse public real estate. Through the realization of these agreements it will be possible to ensure the transfer of 27 state properties that are unused or vacant, in a global value of 8.5 million euros, for the management of municipalities.
« Among other purposes, the properties that are part of this program will be intended for housing for controlled costs, tourism and nature activities, support for the elderly and cultural purposes and installation of support houses for forest sapadores, » explained the executive, adding that the program was celebrated with the municipalities of Almeirim, Arcos de Valdevez, Castro Verde, Lamego, Leiria, Moura, Ourem, Sabugal, Sabugal, Sabugal, Santo Tirso Southern, Sernancelhe, Sintra, Tomar, Torres Novas, Torres Vedras and Vila Pouca de Aguiar.

Among these properties are, for example, Quinta da Adega, in Arcos de Valdevez, an investment of 2.5 million euros, which will be transformed into the Quinta de Ciência Viva. The former Portimão Customs joins in an investment of two million euros to give way to the Multi-Municipal Space. Another of the real estate is the Youth Pousada de Leiria that will be the subject of an intervention for the construction of the extension of the Municipal Library. Will have a cost of one million euros.

In February of this year, the government again celebrated 14 agreements with 12 municipalities for the transfer of public real estate management skills unused. Thus, it was possible to ensure the transfer of 22 more properties from the state, which are unused or vacant, to the management of municipalities, in a global value of 40 million euros.

These transfers, together with those of October, mean that the executive has already celebrated 33 agreements with 29 municipalities, and 49 properties were transferred to rehabilitation, whose total investment value is about 50 million euros.

In this case, the agreements were signed with Albufeira, Customs of Faith, Alvaiázere, Arcos de Valdevez, Coimbra, Coruche, Guarda, Butigas, Montalegre, Penedono, Portimão and Tomar.
It is recalled that in May 2024, the government announced that it was going to create a legal regime for “semi-automatic injection of vacant properties” in the market, for housing or other relevant projects, an initiative that would be made in conjunction with the various municipalities.

By this time, the Presidential Minister, António Leitão Amaro, warned the end to the coercive lease provided for in the most housing program of the previous socialist government. « This is a new regime, where the local -based initiative allows to accelerate, identify and put, after recovery, available, either for housing and other relevant public purposes, so many hundreds of public real estate that are still standing, while there are so many people without too many expensive houses, » he said, explaining then that it would be up to the municipalities to identify vacant or underused public real estate and to present the state, an end, an end, an end project public that fits within the attributions of the municipality and can be placed in fruiting by people ».