Almost half of landlords are considering terminating their leases if the government freezes rents next year, according to a survey by the Lisbon Property Owners Association (ALP) published this Thursday.
The survey, which was conducted between September 30 and October 8 and covered 745 rental home owners, also found that 33% of owners admit to negotiating with their tenants for “balanced rent costs for both parties.”
Already 25% said they would increase rents on empty properties “to compensate for the losses they are forced to bear.”
A similar percentage of 24.5% admit to moving their properties from traditional rentals to other segments “with less risk, such as foreign or student housing.”
Finally, 22% of respondents said they would participate in demonstrations, protests and petitions. Two respondents (0.3%) indicated that they would do nothing if the decline was below 6.94%, the benchmark for increases in most leases already confirmed by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
Among landlords surveyed by the ALP, 93.6% thought it was unacceptable to stall rent increases below the level set by INE.
The homeowners’ association survey also found that 63.1% of respondents believed that the rent for their properties in September this year was “low compared to current values”, and 9.8% noted that it was “adequate to the value of citizens’ wages.” .
In a statement quoted in the statement, ALP president Luis Menezes Leitan said landlords were “not to blame for this crisis,” insisting that “if there is housing, it is because of them.”
“Landlords, whether small landlords or large investors, must have a clear signal that there is legislative stability in Portugal,” added Luis Menezes Leitan, who asked the government to support “tenants who have a proven need, without destabilizing further one market.” This is already a ticking time bomb.”
At a press conference to present the 2024 state budget on Tuesday, Finance Minister Fernando Medina noted that the government continues to develop contacts with tenant and owner associations.
“This is a topic that my colleague [ministra da Habitação] still continues to evolve with various organizations,” said Fernando Medina.
Given the context of high inflation, the government has decided to limit annual rent renewal to 2% in 2023 and, in turn, created tax breaks for landlords.
This year, with the inflation rate pegging the annual rent renewal at 6.94%, the government has begun a consultation process with the sector without yet revealing what the 2024 increase will be.
Prime Minister Antonio Costa rejected the scenario of fixing the rate at 2%, as happened this year.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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