Moedas defends inclusive housing policy and pushes for freeing young people from IMT

Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas (SDP) said this Thursday that housing policy should be inclusive and open, free of prohibitions and imposition, advocating a diversified vision and pushing for the release of young people from IMT.

“To say today that young people cannot be exempt from IMT, which is a tax that can go up to 8,000 euros when buying a house, I think this is something so unfair, so unfair, so unfair that I will take again this is a proposal and I think or hope that the opposition will not have the courage to oppose a proposal that is important for our youth,” said Social Democrat Carlos Moedas.

As part of the presentation of the Lisbon Municipal Housing Charter, the mayor assured that the municipal housing policy in the capital “is not ideological” but rather with a diversified vision of measures, including municipal building, cooperatives and private participation.

The Mayor of Lisbon assured that the exemption from the Municipal Property Transfer Tax (IMT) for young people under 35 to purchase their own home, up to a maximum of 250,000 euros, “is part of this diverse range of proposals.”

“We have to fight these ideological forces, so I will take a meeting of the House, already at one of the next meetings, again, what was the measure of exemption from the MBT and if someone attacks me, saying that I am ideological, we have there is proof that it is not me,” said the social democrat, listing the various measures taken by the municipality in the field of housing, from the provision of affordable housing to the municipal subsidy to leasing.

As part of the vote on the municipal budget proposal for 2023 on November 30, the exemption from IMT presented by the PSD/CDS-PP leadership, which rules without an absolute majority, was defeated by votes against all opposition councilors, namely PS, PCP, Citizens for Lisbon, BE and Livre.

Suggesting that “housing is without a doubt Lisbon’s biggest problem”, the mayor this Thursday defended that policies in this area should be “inclusive, open and should involve everyone”, as was the work of the Municipal Housing Charter Lisbon. as a result of consultations with several actors.

“It cannot be a housing policy that prohibits or imposes, it must be truly inclusive,” Carlos Moedas emphasized, noting that it is necessary to be realistic, not to create false expectations, because “no politician, no one has a magic sticks.” “. solve the problem, including the idea of ​​a “central solution within two to three years”.

The mayor believed that the housing problem could only be solved by specific and varied measures in its proximity to land in which “the role of the municipalities is essential”, criticizing proposals that pit the public against the private, tenants against the private ones that convey the idea that “the central state can solve everything.”

Arguing that it is necessary to “move from the logic of centralization to the logic of participation”, the mayor presented the work of the current executive body in the housing sector, indicating that in 2022 it is possible to “help 1259 families, the number of which has not been since 2010”, which is the result of allocation of housing and subsidies for affordable rent.

Carlos Moedas also noted the construction of 1,000 houses, 138 of which have already been completed; the amount of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) of 343 million euros until 2023; restoration of 2,000 vacant municipal buildings through the company Gebalis in the amount of 42 million euros; and collaboration with the private sector, in which it will consider a concession model for generating affordable income in Benfica and Parque das Nasuens.

The relaunch of five cooperatives by the end of this year, one of which has already been launched in Lumiara, to give municipal land to a group of people who want to build and cheapen housing, was another of the measures noted.

Considering that the council cannot build everything with PDP funds, the chairman of the municipal executive said that he would offer programs to buy housing from individuals, especially vacant ones, without conflicting with the right of ownership, even if he did not define criteria such as limits purchase price, where the ultimate goal is to increase the supply of fireworks at affordable prices.

Another measure is extreme competition for affordable income for those who did not participate in the supported rental and affordable income program because they earn more than 500 euros and less than 760 euros.

In addition, he added, there is direct family support in which the council can help 1,000 households pay their rent through the municipal Affordable Rent Subsidy, which aims to keep private market tenants from paying more than 30%. what they earn, and this municipal support can reach 1/3 of the income, with the municipality already helping “more than 500 families” this year.

The council is also intervening in student housing, with 300 beds being built in Alameda and 900 beds in the project, and is working to increase the supply of housing for police officers and teachers.

“These are not promises, this is what we do […] this is not a promise of a housing program, it is simply and only the implementation of a program that will provide more access, that will diversify what is offered, and that will be able to combat this serious problem, or at least manage to contribute,” the mayor said, indirectly criticizing the government’s “More Housing” program.