Parliament is debating this Friday the government’s bill with the measures of the “More Housing” program, during the debate they were joined by ten bills, a draft discussion and two draft resolutions of the opposition.
Here are some of the measures contained in the government’s proposal.
Limitations on rent increases under new contracts
The initial rental value of new contracts for houses that have been on the rental market in the last five years cannot exceed 2% compared to the previous one. To this value, you can add the automatic renewal factors of the previous three years (if they were not applied), taking into account 5.43% relative to 2023.
Homes whose rent is below the maximum rental caps per type under the Affordable Rent (PAA) program are not covered by this upgrade cap.
Old rental rates updated for inflation
Older leases (before 1990) whose tenants have an adjusted gross annual income of less than five national minimum wages, or are 65 years of age or older, or have a disability greater than 60%, do not transition to the New Urban Lease Regime (NRAU). ).
The rent in question will now be updated to match inflation and exempt from IRS and IMI taxes. It also provides for the payment of compensation to landlords.
Suspension for two years to cover the sale of the house
The proposed law would suspend for two years the deadline for covering the sale price of a home without taxing capital gains, with the measure effective January 1, 2020. In practice, this is interrupted for two years. a period of 36 months during which people must invest in a new home the value of the sale of their own permanent home, and during which they enjoy tax exemption.
The suspension of this 36-month period applies to sales that occurred prior to 2020.
Tenant and landlord counter
Special eviction and injunction processing is now handled through the new Tenant and Landlord Service (BAS).
State pays rent debt after three months of default
The state will replace the tenant and pay the rent within three months to strengthen the rental market. Thus, the state will be able to assess the situation of the tenant and proceed to collect the missing amounts, using the funds currently available to collect other debts. Since the non-compliance is due to lack of funds, the case is referred to Social Security and removed from the BNA.
Capital gains from homes sold to the state and municipalities exempt from the IRS
Capital gains resulting from the sale of property to the state or municipalities are exempt from the IRS and IRC, and only those earned by residents in the list of territories and countries that Portugal classifies as tax havens are excluded from this measure. This exemption also does not apply to capital gains resulting from the exercise of a pre-emptive right.
Currently, 50% of capital gains received must be added to remaining income subject to progressive IRS rates.
Incentive for AL homes to be rented out
Homes currently allocated to local occupancy (AL) that are transitioning to the rental market will be exempt from the IRS and IRC on rent through December 31, 2029.
For this purpose, the lease agreement must be concluded before December 31, 2024, and only properties with AL registration before December 31, 2022 are eligible to participate.
Suspension of New AL Licenses
The issuance of new local accommodation licenses will be suspended, except for rural areas, with municipalities responsible for determining an “adequate balance” of housing and student housing, which will allow this suspension to end.
However, the government’s proposal provides that the suspension of these registrations remains in municipalities that have declared a housing shortage situation.
Validity and renewal of AL registration
The term for local housing registrations is now five years, renewable for the same period, with the government’s proposal to specify that registrations issued as of the effective date of the law that applies to Mais Housing are “reviewed within a year from 2030.” .
This expiration does not apply in situations where AL Institutions “represent the actual guarantee of loan agreements entered into prior to February 16, 2023, and which were not settled on December 31, 2029, and “whose first revision occurs only after full amortization. originally imprisoned.
In addition, within two months of the entry into force of the law, AL registrants must provide evidence of their activities under penalty of expiration of the registration.
Owners can oppose AL
Owners may oppose AL in stand-alone factions of buildings or in urban areas if the decision is more than half per mille of the building. Such consistency cannot be verified if the design title provides for such use (AL).
Outstanding Contribution to AL
Local housing will now pay an emergency contribution, the tax base of which consists of the application of an economic coefficient (which takes into account the size of the property and income) and urban pressure. The rate applicable to this tax base is 20%.
The taxable value of equity (VPT) for IMI purposes of local residences is always 1, and no longer benefits from the reduction in aging that accompanies property age.
Forced rental of vacant houses
It is one of the measures that has attracted the most criticism and is the possibility of forced leasing of houses that have been empty for more than two years and located outside the country.
Holiday homes, those that are vacant because the respective owner is in a nursing home or provides full-time care as an informal caregiver, as well as emigrant homes, and those displaced for professional, medical or educational reasons, are not considered vacant for this effect.
The proposal calls for the municipality to notify the owner after two years of work or use of the property, with the latter having a period of 90 days to respond, after which, if the home remains empty, the municipalities can proceed with a forced lease. . . .
The law that defines what a vacant house is already requires water, electricity, gas and communications companies to send a list of consumption information to local governments, and the government’s proposal adds that the list will now include a mandatory matrix identification for each building. .
Abolition of aggravated IMI rates for municipalities that do not rent vacant houses
Municipalities that do not use the powers given to them by law to enforce vacant home leases can no longer apply higher IMI rates to vacant properties.
Tax Credits for Affordable Housing Works
The government wants to increase the number of homes available under the Affordable Rent (PAA) program and to this end, there is a 6% VAT rate on construction work or home renovations that is mostly allocated to this program (at least 70%). , as well as a three-year IMI exemption (renewable for another five years) and an IMT exemption when purchased for rehabilitation.
Tenants can notify the tax authorities of the lease
Tenants will now be able to notify the tax authorities of leases, subleases, promises and related modifications or terminations if the landlord fails to do so.
Capital gains exemption when selling real estate to repay a loan
The program provides for capital gains exemption on the sale of family property as long as the amount is used to pay off a loan for the permanent home of the owner or his descendants.
This exemption applies to properties sold between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2024, with an offer specifying that depreciation must be made within three months from the date of sale.
Reduction from 28% to 25% of the special IRS rate on rent
Rent income (when the taxpayer does not want to include them) will now be paid at the IRS rate of 25% instead of the current 28%. In addition, the already existing reduction in the tax rate for contracts of longer duration is reinforced, and in the longer term (over 20 years) it is reduced from the current 10% to 5%, ending, however, for contracts with a duration of two and five years.
End of golden visas
“Golden” visas will no longer be issued for the purchase of real estate, with the government’s proposal to make some clarifications to the renewal (every two years) of those already issued and to specify that “new residence permit applications related to investment or support for artistic production, restoration or conservation national cultural heritage for which a GEPAC declaration has been issued prior to the entry into force of this law.”
Transformation of commercial real estate and services into housing
It is possible to automatically change the use of commercial real estate or services to residential real estate, which eliminates the need to revise land use plans or housing licenses, provided that costs are controlled.
Land or buildings provided to housing cooperatives
The government also plans to make land or public buildings available to housing cooperatives for construction or conversion into affordable rental homes.
Simplified Licensing
Architectural designs will now only be licensed based on the term of responsibility of the designers, and public authorities will be penalized for delays in issuing opinions.
250 IU for affordable housing
The program provides for the approval of a credit line with a mutual guarantee and an interest rate subsidy for affordable housing projects, namely construction or renovation, as well as for the purchase of real estate to be placed on the rental market.
Homes promoted using this support are available on affordable leases for a minimum of 25 years, with a longer lease term, after which the municipalities and IHRU have priority to purchase them.
Entities that may qualify for this measure are cooperatives, commercial building societies, municipalities and charitable organizations or other institutions of social solidarity.
150 IU queue for municipalities for forced labor
A €150 million funding line is envisaged through the Banco Português de Fomento to allow municipalities to carry out forced labor, thereby strengthening the exercise of municipalities’ prerogatives within the legal regime. urbanization and construction.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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