Without withdrawing any of the announced proposals under the Meer Wonen programme, the government yesterday announced several adjustments to the most controversial measures, such as the forced rental of vacant homes and restrictions on local housing (AL). But as expected, the plan has not yet been finalized: two measures, including the waiving of pre-assessment of municipal services for architectural projects, remain under discussion until the end of April.
With regard to the forced letting of vacant properties, the proposal now approved by the Council of Ministers limits the territories and typologies covered and extends the period required for a property to fall under this scheme to two years ( originally only one year was foreseen). In other words, the measure will not be applied in low-density areas (it will mainly be applied in the coastal strip), nor on typologies other than apartments (e.g. houses will be omitted). The Prime Minister thus explained the procedure to be followed in these cases: after two years of vacancy, the municipality notifies the owner and offers an income “30% above the median price of that typology in that parish”. “It’s not about expropriation, expropriation, it’s about paying a fair rent”, putting the property on the market, he underlined. In case of refusal or lack of response from the owner, the municipality can proceed to forced letting. If the municipality chooses not to do so, the municipality loses the right to the increased IMI rate applied to vacant buildings.
Amendments aimed at “ensuring proper rest and security” in a measure that has sparked controversy, which the prime minister said yesterday he sees with “some bewilderment”. Costa once again reiterated an argument that has been widely used by the government – the “concept of vacant buildings and foreclosures is nothing new in the national legal system”. And he also added that “municipalities have been very parsimonious in classifying properties as vacant”: there are 10,998 across the country, of which 6,444 are in Lisbon. Figures that do not justify the “wave of fear” created, says António Costa.
LA with “major impact” on access to housing
Also in local housing, a sector protesting against the announced measures – and which did so again yesterday, at the doors of the press conference of the executive branch, in Almada – the government’s option was for some adjustments, without any to withdraw the planned measures. measures. This is the case of the extraordinary contribution on local housing units located in urban pressure areas, which goes from the initially predicted 35% to 20%. On the other hand, the measure “will not apply to the 165 municipalities classified as low-density and to 73 low-density parishes in 200 other municipalities” and will only cover apartments, not also applicable in the autonomous regions.
In connection with the discontinuation of new local housing permits, the Council of Ministers has now decided, also in this case, that low-density areas are excluded from this measure. And with regard to the expiration of permits in 2030, after which they are renewed every five years, the measure does not apply to cases where the property in question has been pledged as collateral for a loan and in that case the permit remains for that loan until the initial term contracted. The Assembly of the Republic also follows the proposal that allows a majority of owners to end the existence of local accommodation in a fraction and which is also the subject of strong opposition.
And there is another measure aimed at local housing, which, according to António Costa, is the result of the sector’s warnings, which have warned of the significant number of “phantom” LA licenses – units that have an LA license, but not this one have effective use. With this new measure, the local homeowners are given two months to submit a “premium income statement” with that activity, otherwise the permit will expire. Justifying these measures, António Costa claimed that “local accommodation has experienced significant growth”, noting that 109,890 homes are currently allocated to AL. “This year alone, between January and February, more than 2017 homes have been allocated to this economic activity,” said the prime minister, insisting that this is an activity with a “very high impact on access to housing” and that therefore regulation is required. .
Another measure that is progressing is the end of the so-called golden visas. For António Costa, “nothing justifies” the existence of this special regime when “89% of that investment was purely real estate”. According to the Prime Minister of the 11,758 residence permits granted under this regime over 11 years, only 22 have led to job creation, so there are no reasons to justify its continuation. As for the pending trials, Costa stated that “they will be dealt with by the general law”.
One of the pillars of the Mais Habitação program is the tax breaks for renting, especially for properties placed on affordable leases. Under the final proposal, properties placed on the affordable leasing platform are now fully exempt from IRS, IMI, AIMI and IMT taxes, as well as stamp duty and VAT on contract works. An exemption that will also apply to properties that move from local housing to rental. The tax on rent will drop from the current 28 to 25% for leases with a term between two and five years, to 15% for a contract term between five and ten years and to a minimum of 5% for leases. contracts for a period equal to or longer than 20 years. Still regarding rents, landlords who are still receiving “old rents” will stop paying IRS and IMI for the income obtained.
Regarding the criticisms leveled at these measures, António Costa stressed that housing is a structuring factor in people’s lives, and defended that the measures on the table are “quite rational” tools to tackle the housing problem. “My priority is to guarantee the right to housing”, he would also say, expressing his belief that there are no issues with the constitutionality of the measures. Regarding the criticism and a possible future veto from Marcelo, António Costa said he waited “serenely” – “Because we want our competences to be respected, we must respect those of others”.
Source: DN
