The Lisbon Chamber proposes “positive discrimination” for residents in accessing affordable income

Lisbon City Council housing councilor Filipa Roseta (PSD) has proposed “positive discrimination” measures in affordable income programs for long-term residents in parishes “heavily affected by housing pressure,” in addition to competitions open to all.

“We will offer affordable rental programs in which 50% of the houses participating in the competition will be exclusively for those who live or work in Lisbon, and the rest for all candidates,” said Filipa Roseta, quoted in a statement released by the chamber this Monday. .

The proposal was announced as part of the presentation of the results of the public consultation on the Municipal Housing Charter at the 7th meeting of the Lisbon Municipal Housing Council, which took place on Friday, with the participation of several local entities, including parish councils. and residents’ associations.

The housing council member also suggested that in the five parishes in the historical center – Arroios, Santo António, Misericordia, Santa Maria Mayor and São Vicente – which experience the greatest housing problem, “the percentage increases to 75% for those living or works there.”

Filipa Roseta explained that this proposal, which has yet to be formalized, is intended to “provide a solution to the many people forced to leave the city, as well as professionals who have lost vital professions, such as nurses, teachers and police officers,” who, due to the lack of affordable housing they are “forced” to refuse job offers in Lisbon.

“Affirmative action in affordable income programs is needed to counteract the loss of population from parishes that have been hit hardest by the housing crisis,” the councilor said.

The proposal is one of “more than 200 ideas” submitted during the public consultation period for the Lisbon Municipal Housing Charter, which ran from November 7, 2023 to February 2, 2024.

According to the Municipality of Lisbon, the public consultation was attended by 73 individual participants and 15 participants from organizations, including four parish councils and a cooperative, and the topics with the “most emphasis” were local living conditions (AL), affordable rentals, the elderly population and cooperatives.

In this context, the person in charge of housing in Lisbon said that the priority for the next 10 years is to ensure that all public property is used to increase the supply of affordable housing.

Regarding the rules of AL, which should be defined in a special resolution after the approval of the Lisbon Municipal Housing Charter, Council members discussed an average ratio of 5% as a ceiling for AL in the city, considering that it does not protect the balance between the parishes.

In the urban plan, it became possible to propose to include in the Charter maps the delimitation of more territorial management instruments, namely the representation of executive units, urban plans and urban renewal zones, as well as to update the list of operations provided for in the Charter map. housing potential in Lisbon.

In addition to direct participation in public consultations, eight public sessions were held to present and discuss the contents of the Charter, in which participants paid greater attention to the rehabilitation of empty council housing, the construction of residential buildings on council land, the rehabilitation, reconstruction and conversion of council buildings for residential use and the restoration of incoming in the decline of buildings in municipal areas.

These topics are part of the first priority of the document – ​​“Increasing and improving the supply of public, private and partnership housing”.

According to the chamber, under the leadership of the PSD/SDS-PP, which governs without an absolute majority, the public consultation report is being finalized, which is then submitted to the executive and municipal assembly, along with a new version of the Municipal Assembly. Housing bylaw as a result of inclusion of accepted proposals.

SSM//MCL

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