Tenants up to and including the sixth rung of the IRS, ie with a taxable income of up to 36,757 euros, and with an effort percentage equal to or greater than 35%, are entitled to aid of up to 200 euros per month, the Prime Minister announced on Thursday, Minister, António Costa, during the briefing of the Council of Ministers that approved measures to ease the cost of housing.
This subsidy is retroactive to January 1, 2023 and applies for five years, i.e. until 2028.
The measure “will be in force for the next five years, a desirable period for the government to work on increasing the supply of social housing, along with other measures that will normalize the rental market,” explains António Costa.
The support will vary depending on the family income and the level of income, ie the effort percentage. “A family, with a couple and two children, who, for example, has a gross monthly income of 2,500 euros and an income of 1,200 euros per month, receives support of 200 euros per month,” the prime minister pointed out.
The head of government presented yet another case: “For a single-parent family, which has a gross monthly income of 1500 euros and an income of 700 euros, the aid will be 175 euros”.
The aid “is allocated automatically and takes into account the values of the rents made available to the Tax Office (AT)”, explained the Minister of Housing, Marina Gonçalves. That is why “it is important to register the leases”, he stressed. Otherwise, tenants will not have access to the subsidy.
As for the number of families potentially covered by the measure, the Prime Minister could not specify a number, adding only that there are currently about 150 contracts declared in the AT.
Asked whether, as with the interest rate subsidy on home loans, the value of household savings would make it unfeasible to qualify for aid, Costa rejected it, clarifying that the borrower with “equity” would be able to pay the loan. can repay, while the tenant cannot repay the income”.
For example, tenants with movable assets, including in particular deposits, financial instruments, capitalization insurance, pension savings plans (PPR) or savings or treasury certificates, above EUR 29,786 (more than 62 times the Social Support Index (IAS)) can benefit from support, in contrast to home loan holders.
The only conditions are: the effort percentage must be greater than or equal to 35%, that is, when more than 35% of the income is used to pay the rent of the house; and the gross annual income of the household cannot exceed the sixth IRS scale (36,757 euros), a value calculated after specific deductions and discounts.
The Prime Minister clarified that the cost of this measure, combined with income support, will be around €460 million, which is less than the €900 million initially announced for the Meer Wonen package, as this amount also includes “a set of other benefits that be laid down in the Council of Ministers on the 30th”.
The public consultation on the part of Mais Habitação, which provides for building support for tenants and people with mortgage loans, ended on the 13th.
On March 24, the public consultation on the remaining program (including measures to be sent by the government to parliament) will end, which will go to the Council of Ministers and then to parliament on March 30.
At stake are diplomas related to local housing, golden visas or forced renting of vacant houses, among others.
The global package of measures was approved by the Council of Ministers on 16 February and put into public consultation on 20 February.
The measures of the Mais Habitação program will cost about 900 million euros, according to the government, which will be mobilized through the state budget.
Source: DN
