PS criticizes public-private partnership model for affordable housing in Lisbon with subsidies for tenants

This Wednesday, the PS in the Lisbon City Council intensified its criticism of the PSD/CDS-PP management’s proposal for a new public-private partnership (PPP) model for affordable housing, which includes the possibility of subsidizing tenants to pay income.

At a public meeting of the municipal executive, PS councilor Inez Drummond said that subsidizing the payment of rents for houses built using the proposed PPP model “is an admission that rents are no longer affordable for the pockets of Lisbon residents.”

According to the latest version of the proposal, the discussion of which was postponed by the PSD/CDS-PP management on January 17, because there were no conditions for its approval, the new PPP model for affordable housing in Lisbon includes rights to “resort to income support subsidies.”

Criticizing the “dramatic increase” in rent costs for houses to be built under the PPP regime, Inez Drummond believes that “charging around €800 for T1 and over €1,000 for T2 undermines the purpose of the programme, which is to guarantee homes that people can afford,” noting that the average income of families living in affordable houses in Lisbon was €1,212 in 2022.

“If the council proposes to hand over land worth almost 30 million to private individuals, as is the case with the Benfica and Parc des Nations sites, so that they can have houses at affordable rents and, on top of that, tax breaks and the provision of operating equipment and parking private sector, the council also subsidizes tenants, it is clear that we are talking about a model that has not served its purpose,” said the PS adviser.

Signed by housing councilor Filipa Roseta (PSD), the proposal for a new PPP model for affordable housing, starting with the construction of 550 houses in the parishes of Benfica and Parque das Nações, envisages that municipal property will be transferred to private individuals “in land rights for a period of 90 years” for homes with “rents 20% below market”, with the maximum limits being those set out in the Government’s Affordable Rental Scheme regulations.

In the opposite direction, councilors PS and PCP proposed that the income limits should not take into account the market value, but rather what is provided for in the Municipal Ordinance on the right to housing, namely between 150 and 400 euros for type T0, between 150 and 500 euros for T1, from 150 to 600 euros for T2 and from 200 to 800 euros for T3+.

Regarding the PSD/CDS-PP proposal, the PS adviser said that “the municipality itself cannot be a factor in excluding the middle class in the city, which is what happens with the proposed revenue values” in the PPP model.

“If it is not possible to build with private companies at a price that is affordable to applicants and attractive to builders/individuals, then this only reinforces the need for the council to use its own financial resources to build more,” defended socialist Inez Drummond.

In response, the mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas (NSD), criticized the “political assertiveness” of the PS, when housing policy in the city over the last 10 years shows, according to INE data, an average of 17 houses per year, emphasizing that in According to this mandate, in the course of rehabilitating empty and empty houses, more than 1,000 homes have already been provided.

Regarding the proposal for a new PPP model, a housing adviser warned that “misinformation is something very serious and is getting in the way”, ensuring there would be no change to the cost of council housing rents, which average €307.

“Council brothels still charge the same rent,” confirmed Filipa Roseta, explaining that “there was never any discussion about changing” the values ​​regarding public-owned brothels.

The PS councilor also asked about the council’s contacts with tenants of houses participating in the Renda Segura program, “more than 250 families” who are forced to leave their homes, a situation that the President of the Executive said he was not aware of, ensuring that he would investigate. that “this was not by order of the executive branch” and that “the council will not put anyone on the street.”