The PSD presented proposals to amend and delete the government’s “most harmful” local housing initiatives, such as the extraordinary contribution or the expiry of registrations in 2030, with the agreement of the “main representative association of the sector “, ALP.
In a statement, the Social Democrats say they have “held an open and constructive dialogue with the various actors in the sector”, including the Associação do Alojamento Local in Portugal (ALEP), “in stark contrast to the inability to dialogue with the government”.
“The socialist government seems to want to ‘condemn to death’ local accommodation in Portugal,” criticizes the party, saying it shares with ALEP the diagnosis that the measures taken by the executive “violate the right to private property and free private initiative” and question marks to the viability of a sector “which has made and continues to make a fundamental contribution to economic activity and employment in Portugal”.
After the government’s ‘More Housing’ package and PSD diplomas have been widely approved, voting on the specialism will begin on Wednesday in the working group set up under the parliamentary economics committee.
The PSD will propose the removal of the government’s proposals that it considers “most harmful to local accommodation”: the extraordinary contribution for the sector, the increase of the IMI for this type of property, the general extension to the whole country of the non-transferability of local housing housing registrations, as well as the expiration of registrations in 2030 “and uncertainty about possible renewal”.
In the statement, the party reiterates that “if the Socialist Party insists that these harmful measures be adopted now, the next PSD government will withdraw such harmful measures upon taking office”.
In the specific discussion, the PSD will also propose changes to the government’s degrees to try to “regulate local accommodation (AL) with moderation, fairness and sustainability”.
The Social Democrats propose that, “when an assembly of tenants opposes the existence of AL, the mayor of the city council may submit the situation to mediation, with the agreement of the parties”, and to provide that an assembly from tenants or the City Council “may require LAs to have noise control mechanisms and/or a 24-hour phone line for complaints and emergencies.”
The PSD also proposes, as proposals for amendments to government degrees, that the definition of new containment areas and the periodic assessment of existing ones “should be based on a study assessing concentration and impacts”, further stipulating that these periodic assessments “pass “. be made at least every three years”.
The party is also proposing to create a new grade in the law for “areas of sustainable growth” that would allow municipalities to “set some sustainability requirements for AN (minimum state of conservation or energy efficiency) or that the properties in question are not be subject to city lease in the two years prior to the application for registration”.
On 19 May, parliament broadly approved, with only a positive vote from the PS, the government’s proposal containing the measures of the ‘More Housing’ programme.
The ‘More Housing’ programme, approved by the Council of Ministers on March 30, includes measures such as forcibly renting out vacant homes, suspending new local housing permits or ending ‘golden’ visas.
In March, the PS had through abstinence enabled a series of PSD diplomas on housing, including measures such as licensing flexibility, support for rents, state guarantees to help young people buy and general tax relief in the sector.
Source: DN
