There are at least 77,000 families in the country living in poverty. This number, which could increase, is the result of the survey carried out by 258 municipalities, among the 308 existing on the national territory, developing local housing strategies under the 1st law programme.
The data was revealed yesterday by the Minister of Housing, Marina Gonçalves, during a regimental hearing before the Commission of Economy, Public Works, Planning and Housing, and reflects the existence of more than 10,000 families compared to the survey presented last April , then about from 66 thousand. They also represent almost three times the number of households compared to the framework set by the government in 2018 when drawing up the housing program for people with a clear housing shortage. At the time, 26 thousand families had been identified.
So far, 1,400 homes have been completed and 7,500 homes are under construction or starting construction, Marina Gonçalves revealed to deputies. It should be remembered that the 1st Law program has an allocation of 1.2 billion euros from the Recovery and Resilience Plan, to be implemented by 2026. However, this amount will only meet the needs of the 26 thousand families identified in 2018. .
The process is in full swing, but not even halfway. The government plans to deliver a further 1,300 homes by the end of this year, providing a solution for 10,200 families in addition to those already completed and those in the development phase. The minister has already announced that “other instruments” will be introduced in 2026 for what has not been implemented, but without specifying what the means will be.
10 thousand applicants
On that occasion, the housing minister also revealed the existence of “more than 10,000” candidates for the April 65 contest, which are still being analyzed. This program was intended to support young people in paying their rent, but has since been extended to people with a rental contract who show a drop in income of more than 20% or single-parent families.
In terms of leasing, Marina Gonçalves said that “in the coming weeks” the first contracts for the Lease to Sublease program will be signed. In this measure of the Mais Habitação package, the State assumes the rental of private properties – vacant and ready-to-move-in homes – and then sub-rents these homes to families with a maximum effort rate of 35%. The houses are rented by the Institute for Housing and Urban Recovery.
As for tenants with effort rates above 100% income and whose aid is denied, the official reaffirmed that these cases will be reassessed under the IRS 2022. 2021. According to the minister, these situations will be subject to a second review, now that the IRS campaign referencing last year’s earnings has ended. “That’s why there’s a part [das famílias] who have not received support and will receive it,” he specified. Currently, the support reaches 185 thousand households – including those with an effort rate of more than 35%, but less than 100%.
Marina Gonçalves also admitted that there are about 28,000 people who have not yet received support because the IBAN has not been updated or guaranteed by the Tax and Social Security, and there are currently about 28,000. There are another 20,000 families whose aid does not exceed 20 euros and is therefore only paid every six months, with the first payment (retroactive to January) being made this month.
strong opposition
One of the critical points of the audition was Local Accommodation (AL). Liberal deputies from PSD, Chega and Iniciativa reaffirmed that the measures envisaged in Mais Habitação, a program discussed in the specialty and to be voted on globally before the end of this month, will “destroy local housing”. For the PSD, Topa Gomes viewed the government’s proposals for the AL as “massive violence” and lamented the lack of a prior diagnosis. Filipe Melo, from Chega, accused the director of “looking for crumbs” and endangering the future of a company that provides employment to thousands of families.
“It is very hard to believe that there is no specific prosecution of local small business accommodation owners,” said IL deputy Carlos Guimarães Pinto. “The minister is housing minister in Portugal, she is not a councilor for housing in Lisbon or Porto,” he noted, criticizing the “blind” application of the extraordinary contribution and defending exceptions for areas where the AL is remaining .
Marina Gonçalves rejected that the government had adopted “a blind suspension”. What it did was create an incentive, contingent on “will” and not obligation, for the LA to participate in the response to the housing crisis. As he said, “we are not in a fight against local accommodation, we prioritize housing, which requires difficult choices”.With Lusa
Sónia Santos Pereira is a journalist at Dinheiro VIvo
Source: DN
