Rui Moreira says Porto residents have priority in accessing social housing

The executive director of the Chamber of Porto this Monday rejected the BE’s proposal to review the conditions and criteria for access to public housing, with the mayor declaring that the priority is the residents of Porto.

The proposal, discussed in closed session and rejected by votes against councilors from the PS, PSD and the independent movement of Rui Moreira, aimed to revise the Regulations for the Management of the Municipal Housing Park of Porto in order to “guarantee the legality of the regulation” in terms of access “without exceptions that are more punitive than the general law.”

To journalists on the sidelines of the meeting, the mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira, said that, based on the opinion of the municipality, “there is nothing unconstitutional in regulating” the management of public housing stock, but that if there is unconstitutionality, the municipality will have to “demand changes in legislation.”

However, Rui Moreira stressed that the municipality will not change the criteria or conditions for access to the public housing stock.

“I understand the position that the Left Bloc defends regarding access to the constitutional right to housing, but for this to happen, this must be done through state instruments. The state has something called IHRU. [Instituto de Habitação e Reabilitação Urbana] and therefore this compensation must be made through the IHRU,” he said.

According to the mayor, the municipality’s investment in public housing stock should give “priority to the residents of Porto.”

Regarding BE, Councilor Maria Manuel Rola, who replaced Sergio Aires at the meeting, said the proposal aims to ensure that those in need “are not excluded from the list to access public housing” in the city.

“It is true that it is necessary to guarantee [o acesso a habitação] at the national level, and BE has carried out this fight, but it must also be guaranteed at the level of the city of Porto and other cities where people work and live,” he said, asking whether people who have lived in Porto for three years have less more eligible than others who have lived for five years to receive social housing.

“We understand that this is a very questionable criterion,” he added.

Like BE, CDU councilor Ilda Figueiredo said regulation “needs to be improved,” especially regarding the requirement to reside in Porto for four years to access public housing.

“We still think it’s excessive,” the adviser said.

Socialist councilor Thiago Barbosa Ribeiro believed that there were “no legal problems” in the municipality’s rules and argued that abolishing these criteria “would be pretentious” for housing management.

“If we were to directly remove any residency criterion for access to housing, we would create a negative externality towards other municipalities who would no longer have incentives to invest in social housing,” he stressed.

Social Democratic councilor Alberto Machado also said he disagreed with BE’s position because he believed the ordinance was “in accordance with the law” and “well constructed.”

“In its matrix there is a set of criteria that the council considers valid to evaluate citizens according to their needs,” he noted, adding that the Porto municipality cannot, after investing in social housing, “use Porto taxes.” residents to provide social housing to people who are not from here,” arguing that there must be “priorities.”