Minister allows refinement of proposal to remove doubts about old rent

On Tuesday, the Housing Minister asked MPs to clarify the rule blocking the transition from the old rent to the new city rent regime to remove doubts that the measure could harm older tenants.

The issue that the government’s proposal for more housing will not protect older tenants was raised Tuesday by PSD MP Marcia Passos during a hearing with Housing Minister Marina Gonçalves at the Economics, Public Works, Planning and Housing Department. .

We are talking about the abolition, appearing in the proposal of the Government, of the paragraph of the law, which determines that in the event of the transition to the new city lease regime (NRAU) of the “old” lease agreement, the landlord cannot object to the extension of the lease agreement. of the contract, if the tenant has lived in the house for more than 15 years and on the date of transition of the contract he is 65 or more years old or the degree of disability is equal to or greater than 60%.

Warning that “with the abolition of this rule, the government leaves these people without protection”, who can now only be evicted if the house is demolished, Marcia Passos stressed that the minister has “the opportunity to say that she made a mistake”. and correct it by recalling that the protection of tenants living in a building for more than 15 years was introduced into law in 2019 by the PS Government.

In response, Housing Minister Marina Gonçalves rejected this legal interpretation, but asked the deputies to clarify them if there is any doubt, using the discussion on the More housing specialty.

Marina Gonçalves clarified that the measure is to ensure that old contracts don’t go to the NRAU, so everything else “is a dead letter”.

“The political goal is to [os contratos antigos] do not transfer to the NRAU, but there is no intention of the government to deprive the tenant of protection,” he explained, repeating that the abolition of this paragraph of the law “does not pose any problems.” [em termos de proteção do inquilino]”.

However, he stressed to the MPs: “If in doubt, clarify”, taking advantage of the ongoing process of specialization to carry out such clarification.

The minister also said that the option of stopping the transition from old leases to NRAU (instead of re-renewing it, as has been done) aims to ensure contract stability and predictability for tenants and landlords, hinting at a report being made that will serve as the basis for compensation to the landlord.