The entire opposition in the Assembly of the Republic criticized the new Housing Strategy, but for different reasons: the left called for rent regulation, while the right demanded details of these measures.
Reacting to the desire of the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, who was present this Friday at the plenary session of the Assembly of the Republic, to remove the “harshness” from the public housing policy, the PS recalled that, during the election campaign, the current Prime Minister said that the package “ More Housing,” accepted by the previous leader, had to “abandon the project and start from scratch.”
Earlier, Minister Miguel Pinto Luz said the government wanted to “put an end to the primary Manichaeism that everything was done wrong in the past,” even admitting that “not everything was done wrong” under the previous socialist government.
“The harshness,” he said, “must stop and stop today.”
During the parliamentary debate on sectoral policy, after the new Housing Strategy was presented on Friday, MP Maria Begoña (PS) noted that, given the “very serious crisis of access”, the new strategy generates “mistrust” and “social anxiety” , criticizing the government for wanting to “re-liberalize housing” and “fully open up local housing.”
BE, PCP, Livre and PAN defended the need to regulate the rental market.
Representative Marisa Mathias (BE) cited the example of other countries to justify the defense of a ban on the sale of houses to non-residents (Canada) and regulation of rental prices and tourism restrictions (several European countries).
In response, the minister reiterated that the government wants to both regulate and intervene, that is, influence the price of rents by putting more houses on the market.
“A public offer helps regulate the market and creates balance,” he said.
Spokesperson Paula Santos (PCP) criticized the Housing Strategy for not containing “measures to end rent regulation or protect tenants”, leading the Minister to comment that it was landlords who were most critical of the announced measures.
And, stressing that “not only is the market not the solution, it is part of the problem,” he found that “housing prices are unaffordable.”
On the right, MP André Ventura (Chega) questioned the government about a bank guarantee aimed at young people who, he said, “have fewer and fewer homes of their own.”
Miguel Pinto Luz said that these “negotiations” are being carried out by the Ministry of Finance with the Bank of Portugal and the Portuguese Banking Association.
“Templates are being developed,” he said, adding that they will be announced at the next Council of Ministers meeting dedicated to youth.
Regarding the extension of the measures proposed for young people to other people, the Minister admitted that he is analyzing this possibility for those buying their first home and are no longer young, but stressed that it is first necessary to know “how much” this extension costs, warning that “not everything fits into a limited budget.”
Chega also wanted to know about the government’s “plan” for empty publicly owned buildings, to which the minister replied that he was consolidating data to “start in the short term” using this heritage.
“It is immoral to have empty buildings when there is a housing shortage in Portugal,” Pinto Luz said.
Regarding IL, Rui Rocha believes that the government has presented “big measures” that are “basically ‘as soon as you see’”, noting that “there are no targets in the new strategy.”
The deputy asked the minister a question about reducing VAT to 6% on the construction of houses, and Pinto Luz explained that the idea “is not to transfer the VAT reduction to the profits of investors, but to the prices of the houses of those who buy.”
There was nothing but praise from the SDP, the party that supports the government (along with the SDS-NP), with MP Alexandre Poso highlighting the “big difference” compared to the previous socialist chief executive, based on the desire to “make the right to housing compatible with the economy and tourism.”
Both PSD and CDS-PP welcomed the measures aimed at young people in the new Housing Strategy.
“Youth have been forgotten,” the minister said, guaranteeing that they will now be “in the spotlight.”
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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