The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, promulgated this Monday a government decree establishing a temporary fixation of mortgage payments for a period of two years, a measure that he already considered positive.
“The President of the Republic promulgated a government decree establishing measures for the temporary fixation of loan agreements for the acquisition or construction of permanent housing and strengthening emergency measures and support in the field of housing loans,” said a statement published by the Presidency of the Republic. Republic.
On September 21, the government approved new measures for the housing sector, including a decree-law establishing an exceptional temporary fixing measure that “allows for the reduction and stabilization of the premium paid by borrowers on mortgage loans for a period of two years.”
According to a statement made at this meeting of the Council of Ministers, “the difference between the payment that would have been made under the terms of the contract and that which arises as a result of the fixing now provided for is paid later and can be amortized in advance, without any commission or collection from the borrower.”
Then in New York, Marcelo Rebelo de Souza promised to urgently evaluate new measures in the housing sector, considering the idea of deferring part of the interest on housing loans for a certain period, “for which it is expected that the crisis will be overcome,” “positive.”
In his opinion, “no matter what, this will immediately provide an important break for families.”
According to the head of state, the government’s actions to mitigate the rise in interest rates also have “a certain political effect”, since they help “remove arguments from populists and the most protesting people who, faced with a similar situation, during the European elections would have This is a very attractive argument for criticism and for the election campaign.”
In a statement, the Council of Ministers said that “the temporary fixation of payment depends on the borrower’s application submitted to the institution before March 31, 2024.”
“Borrowers of loan agreements for the purchase or construction of their own permanent housing, as well as work on their own permanent housing, secured by a mortgage (with a floating interest rate), will now be able to determine the revision of the installment plan, setting the corresponding value equal to that resulting from the application of an index corresponding to 70 % of the six-month Euribor rate, plus the “spread” provided for in the agreement, while the remaining terms of the loan agreement remain unchanged,” the text says.
At the same meeting on September 21, according to the report, the government adopted another decree-law, “which expands the scope and simplifies the requirements for access to support when providing loan agreements.”