Today even more housing is returning to the Council of Ministers and Parliament

Housing is the central theme of the meeting of the Council of Ministers this Thursday, a day in which it is also highlighted in Parliament, where, after a presidential veto, the law integrating the Mais Habitação measures will be considered.

At the last meeting of the Council of Ministers, on the 14th, Presidential Minister Mariana Vieira da Silva announced that the government would approve at the meeting “new measures” to support families facing problems with housing loans and rental housing. .

On the 13th, following the release of August inflation data indicating that rents could increase by 6.94% in 2024 if the renewal cap is not set again, Prime Minister António Costa said, that the government is assessing the value of rent control, stressing that a “balanced decision” needs to be taken.

According to the Prime Minister, new measures for families with housing loans, which are scheduled to be approved this Thursday by the Council of Ministers, include the extension of existing support and the stabilization of interest rates on contracts for a period of two years.

This Thursday, a letter should also be approved explaining the criteria for assigning benefits, taking into account the type of income taken into account for the purposes of calculating benefits.

Also this Thursday, the “More Housing” package, which has been on the political agenda since February 16, when it was presented by the government, returns to the Assembly of the Republic for consideration in the first half hour of the plenary session scheduled for 15:00.

The program was approved in July only by PS deputies, but was later vetoed by the President of the Republic in August.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa expressed a “negative opinion” about the measures proposed by the government and criticized the lack of consensus regarding the Mais Habitação.

The PS then announced by an absolute majority that it would approve the proposal again, without making any changes, and Housing Minister Marina Gonçalves noted that the executive’s proposal was “ripe” and had taken into account different opinions. .

“Parliament has already spoken,” he recalled.

The most controversial and controversial measures of Mais Habitação include the suspension of the registration of new local housing outside of low-density areas and emergency contributions to this business, the forced rental of houses that have been empty for more than two years, and the introduction of caps on the cost of new leases of houses that are already in market.

The package also includes a capital gains tax exemption for owners selling homes to the government, an end to the new golden visas, an increase in the family IMI dependent deduction, changes to the stand-alone property income rate, and a tax exemption for owners who rent their homes from local housing by the end of 2024.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Housing convened this Thursday afternoon and Friday morning the associations of tenants and owners, the trade unions UGT and CGTP, as well as Deco – the Portuguese Consumer Protection Association, to listen to them about the renewal of rents for 2024 and the rules of contracts until 1990

“The Government wishes to listen to various stakeholders in the sector to consider the impact that next year’s estimated inflation will have on the rental market,” the guardianship justified.

The forecast for a rent increase of almost 7% has sparked a range of political and industry reactions, with the Lisbon Owners’ Association warning of “dramatic” results from a new rent freeze, while the Lisbon Tenants’ Association rejects a new increase.

Both BE and PCP have already announced bills proposing caps on rent increases.

The housing crisis united civil society on the platform of “Home to Live”, which responded to government measures with a demonstration on April 1 with thousands of people on the streets.

The next protest, now under the motto “A House to Live, a Planet to Inhabit,” is scheduled for September 30, and has already been joined by at least nine cities across the country.