The chairman of the CDS-PP this Friday accused the government of adopting a “typical behavior of authoritarian regimes” by “imposing on the owners the value” for which they can rent the properties and regarded “the assault” on local housing as unacceptable. .
“In order to impose on owners the value for which they can rent their properties, the government adopts a behavior typical of authoritarian regimes and will encourage the withdrawal of houses from the rental market,” criticizes Nuno Melo.
In a statement to editors, the centrist MEP believes that “when rents are considered insufficient, given the taxes to be paid and the wear and tear and depreciation due to use by third parties, owners will tend to empty or assigned to others, end”.
“By insisting on the measure, which is considered a counterfeit because of its absurdity, the government will dictate the withering of the rental market in Portugal and the accelerated decline of the cities,” he defends.
The Prime Minister, António Costa, presented the measures of the More Housing program on Thursday, accompanied by Finance Minister Fernando Medina and Housing Minister Marina Gonçalves.
According to the Minister of Finance, this package of measures will cost around 900 million euros, which will be mobilized with resources from the national budget.
Among other things, the cabinet wants to limit the rental value of new leases and prohibit the issuance of new local housing permits, with the exception of rural homes in municipalities in the interior. The current permits will be reviewed in 2030 and periodically thereafter every five years.
The college will also adopt a “compulsory rental” regime of vacant properties, where it is up to the state or municipality to “pay the owner the rent due” and charge “the rent accruing from the sublease.” will be made later.
Nuno Melo also believes that “the attack that the government intends to carry out against local accommodation is unacceptable, which has been fundamental to accommodate the large increase in tourism in Portugal and the recovery of some of the most deprived parts of cities, especially in city centres”.
Overall, the MEP believes that the measures of the Mais Habitação program “are an impressive statement of the failure of the administration in terms of housing policy in Portugal” and also “of inertia”.
“The government is now moving towards intrusive statism, with the intention of restricting the exercise of the right to property in an unconstitutional manner and contrary to Article 17 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union”, he refers, pointing out that “in civilized democracies, the state does not prevent citizens from making full use and enjoyment, as long as it is legal, of the respective assets, and all restrictions are compensated”.
Nuno Melo also regrets that the government “has not resorted to measures to help young people buy a home, facing a serious rise in interest rates”.
Regarding the end of the granting of ‘golden’ visas, the president of the CDS-PP believes that this measure “will only lead” to other countries “the investments that could continue to benefit Portugal”.
Source: DN
