The Porto City Council is considering the measures announced regarding local accommodation with a “good look”

The vice-president of the Porto City Council, Filipe Araujo, said this Monday that he “supports” the government’s measures to provide local housing, arguing that municipalities should be given the powers and the ability to regulate this activity.

“For us, as we always communicate, it is important that local authorities have the skills and capacity to regulate,” said the vice-president during a session of the Porto Municipal Assembly.

Answering a question on this topic from MP Rui Sa from the CDU, Filipe Araujo emphasized that the executive branch “advocates the possibility of reregulating” these activities in the city.

“We believe that the municipality should be given the authority to manage its territory,” he added.

Thanks to the Government’s Housing Strategy on Friday, local authorities will once again be able to decide on new local accommodation licences.

In an interview with Lusa, the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, justified the policy changes with the intention of “strengthening the role of municipalities.”

While acknowledging that local housing “has some influence on housing policies proposed by the government or the private sector”, the government says it has “confidence in the ability” of councils to make decisions.

“Municipalities will have the right to vote,” the minister stressed, adding that the decision will have “autonomy,” even if it must be “in accordance with general legislation.”

The local accommodation measures in the government’s current Housing Strategy (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM) are among the fastest to implement (10 days) and also include the revocation of license expiry and the ability to transfer local accommodation. placement.