Housing referendum movement calls for ‘urgent action’

The housing referendum movement believes that the government’s proposals to resolve the crisis in the sector “does not solve” the problem and calls for “urgent measures” to stop “property speculation”.

In a statement, the Movement, which wants to hold a referendum on housing in the capital, is reacting to the measures announced by the government following Thursday’s ministerial council dedicated exclusively to housing.

“The problem is that none of these offers serve us immediately and do not guarantee our right to reside in Lisbon. Evictions will continue, neighboring communities will remain at risk, tourist consumerism will continue in our neighborhoods, and real estate investors will be able to continue to charge rent that we cannot pay,” he denounces.

The movement is focusing on the More Housing measures for local housing.

“We can’t wait another seven years,” he stresses, referring to the revision of local hosting licenses announced by the government for 2030.

With regard to the “tax credits” given to local homeowners who decide to switch to rental housing, the Movement emphasizes that “it has been more than proven that the problem can be solved not with the help of tax credits.”

“We need measures that serve us now, not tax breaks for those who evicted us,” he argues.

Regarding the non-issuance of new local accommodation licenses, the Movement recalls that “the suspension is already in place in most of the city” of Lisbon and therefore will not be of “great importance”.

“The biggest problem in Lisbon is that the city council has allowed over 20,000 homes to be registered for local residence, which affects our neighborhoods, our daily lives and our overall well-being,” he warns.

The motto of the Housing Referendum movement is to unite people around the right to live in Lisbon, and they collect signatures for a local referendum on the right to housing in the city.

One of the measures advocated by the movement is a ban on the placement of the local population in facilities intended for housing.

The proposed referendum (https://referendopelabitacao.pt/) only asks two questions: Do you agree to amend the Municipal Regulations of Local Residence in the sense that the Lisbon City Council will within 180 days order the abolition of local housing registered as residential real estate? Do you agree to amend the Municipal Local Accommodation Rules so that local accommodation is no longer allowed in residences?

The movement needs to collect at least five thousand signatures from people registered in the capital, which it will then submit to the Lisbon municipal assembly, which will have to discuss the proposal, but may or may not approve it. If you do not approve, the referendum fails, if you approve, then the case goes to the Constitutional Court.

The movement is open to the participation of those who live in Lisbon, a concept that goes beyond the residents, extends to those who work and spend time in the city and “feel threatened” due to “property speculation” and “by the way, the city has been as a tourism business.

The More Housing program is available for consultations from Monday until March 10 on the ConsultaLEX portal at https://www.consultalex.gov.pt/ConsultaPublica_Detail.aspx?Consulta_Id=287.

On Thursday, the Prime Minister unveiled a package of measures estimated at 900 million euros to respond to Portugal’s housing crisis in five areas: increasing the supply of real estate used for residential purposes, simplifying licensing processes, increasing the number of houses on the rental market, combating speculation and protect families.

Among the measures announced are changes to the housing sector, including the decision that the issuance of new licenses “will be prohibited”, except for rural housing in municipalities in the interior of the country, where they can stimulate the local economy.

The prime minister also said that current licenses for local accommodation “will be subject to re-evaluation in 2030” and periodically thereafter, every five years.

Property that remains in local housing will be called upon to pay a special fee and income will be donated to the Institute for Housing and Urban Rehabilitation (IHRU) to fund housing policy.

Owners who move their homes out of local housing by the end of 2024 and put them on the rental housing market will be exempt from the IRS on rent until 2030 as “compensation for the reduction in income they receive.”