I’ve been renting houses for 29 years. An organization that has already changed thousands of lives

Cities are made up of the people who live in them, as well as all those who contribute every day to their development, the growth of neighborhoods, social inclusion and the improvement of the quality of life of thousands of families. People like Gebalis employees do work that is almost invisible to many, but necessary.

Present in 66 areas of Lisbon, about 23 thousand houses allocatedGebalis guarantees decent housing for more than 60 thousand people. Created in 1995, the company is designed to provide social, property and financial management of municipal areas of the capital. Which includes rental management, urban regeneration projects, relocation of residents and, above all, proximity monitoring thousands of people through ten local intervention offices.

“The local intervention unit is made up of local interventionists from a wide variety of areas, who can therefore establish a sufficient level of intimacy with residents,” says Sandra Almeida from the Gebalis do Oriente office.

Trusts

In many of the areas where she works, Gebalis’ intervention began during the process of relocating residents. In this way, decades of relationships based on complete trust are established between residents and staff.

Helena Gómez from the Gebalis office in Bairro Padre Cruz mentions that the monitoring process has been ongoing in the area for 13 years and describes the impact of this partnership.

“Technicians from Gebalis and the city council are conducting interviews, processing documents and conducting visits. Always taking into account the mobility, health and age of the residents… and coming up with the best solution based on that,” he says.

In turn, Gebalis teams from each office act as communication between residents of municipal areas and various entities that intervene in the territory under the management of the company.

“At these service desks, our residents can resolve issues related to their housing, such as updating their household or reassessing rent in case of unemployment. They can also report some anomalies in the building, since we manage the rental but also the assets of the Lisbon City Council,” shares Helena Zaragoza from the Gebalis office in Bairro Ameiçoeira.

Support those who need it most

In this way, Gebalis’ work goes beyond housing management, focusing on the needs and challenges of residents. The goal is to improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable families. through support resources such as Banco de Bens.

“The donated goods are intended for households and institutions located in our areas and in a proven situation of need,” explains António Isabel from the Housing Inspectorate.

Day after day, the tireless teams of Gebalis offices throughout Lisbon improve the quality of life of thousands of families, their integration and sense of community. So that everyone can proudly say: this is my district, this is my city.