HomeNewsHousing shortage: Portugal wants to allow forced renting
Not only Berlin suffers from a shortage of living space. Apartments are so rare in Portugal that controversial forced rentals are now to be allowed.
03/30/2023 | updated on 03/30/2023 – 21:33
Houses in Lisbon, Portugal.Panthermedia/imago
The left-wing government in Portugal wants to combat the serious housing shortage with a controversial forced rental of vacant properties. The government of Prime Minister António Costa announced on Thursday evening that forced renting would be possible if an apartment was left unoccupied for more than two years. The measure is part of the „Mais Habitação“ (More Housing) program announced in February and now approved by the Council of Ministers.
According to official estimates, there are over 700,000 vacant residential properties in the country with a good 10.3 million inhabitants. Costa emphasized on Thursday that forced rentals will only be available in regions with a higher population density and, in principle, only for apartments.
Holiday rental in Portugal: Licenses are suspended
Subsidies for the construction of affordable housing are also planned. Licenses for holiday rentals should no longer be issued. Lisbon wants to permanently freeze the rents of old contracts. In newer contracts, rent increases are to be limited to two percent per year. At the same time, landlords should be given tax relief. The state intends to release unused public real estate for rent in the future.
The controversial “Golden Visa Scheme”, which granted non-EU citizens the right to reside in Portugal if they invested in real estate, is also to be ended.
Criticism rains down: Forced rental is controversial
Costa’s press conference was interrupted by loud protests. The opposition and property owners previously criticized the program sharply. „Since I don’t have a magic wand that can turn a rock into a habitable house tomorrow, we need to take steps to improve this situation,“ Costa explained.
The socialist leader said that parliament still has to debate and vote on this package of measures. His government has an absolute majority of seats.
In Portugal, the purchase and rental prices for real estate, especially in the metropolises of Lisbon and Porto, are similar to those in Germany. According to official information, the average monthly salary in the holiday country is only a good 1350 euros. The minimum salary, which has to be paid 14 times, was raised to 760 euros in December.