Lease to sublease should reach 300 contracts in the 1st phase

The first protocols and sublease agreements are due to be signed at the end of this month, and Housing Minister Marina Gonçalves expects 300 agreements to be reached this year.

“Our goal is still to sign the first minutes and the first leases this month, and we expect that this year (…) there will be (…) 300 leases in this first phase”, – said the Minister of Housing. , in an interview with Lusa.

Marina Gonçalves clarified that not all of them correspond to ready-to-move-in houses, and these leases are part of those under construction, but reiterated that the goal is to have this “solution margin” by the “end of the year”.

Subletting is part of the “More Housing” program, the proposal of which is being discussed in Parliament, while Marina Goncalves clarifies that this, like other measures, should not be considered in isolation.

“We don’t think we’ll solve housing problems with subletting or rent support when viewed in isolation. But each of these measures represents another housing, another government support, another housing. a guarantee for families,” explains the owner of the housing portfolio, stressing that the goal of all measures is to achieve “maximum response in the short term”, until there is “a reliable response in the medium term from public housing”. .

“If in each program I can get 300, 400, 500, 2,000 houses at prices compatible with family incomes, if in each program I can give these families access to decent housing, then, in fact, the sum of all this “I help many families,” the minister says in response to criticism that the Mais Habitação is under-emphasized and scattered across too many measures.

Stressing that expanding the public housing supply remains a priority, he recalls that construction and renovations do not happen overnight and that the short-term answer is to understand what tools exist to reach more families.

Among these rapid response tools are, for example, rent support, which began to reach the first families in May and has a maximum monthly value of 200 euros, with a survey already conducted indicating that this assistance reaches more than 180,000 units.

Asked if she admits that she is taking additional measures of the same urgent and urgent nature, Marina Gonçalves did not rule out such a scenario: “Of course,” she said.

“We will determine the measures in accordance with our assessment of the development of the housing market and the needs of families,” he added.

The official expects that with these measures “they will meet the needs of the population”, but the policy and evaluation of measures that can be implemented is carried out “ongoingly”.

“We must always have this openness in order to feel the effectiveness of these measures at any moment,” he said.

In the distance, a scenario of a new freeze on evictions, similar to what happened during the covid-19 pandemic, is visible, and Marina Goncalves points out that such a decision ultimately leads to more instability.

“[Com a suspensão dos despejos] we are not meeting the goal, which is to ensure this stability, because while the suspension is in progress, we have a relationship between the parties that, in fact, is not a trust relationship, because there is an obligation arising from the law and at the end process, we will always have a housing problem for this household,” the minister says.