Municipality of Viseu has “new instrument” to combat vacant properties

The Viseu City Council has a new instrument to combat vacant or dilapidated buildings, with the publication of the delimitation of the urban pressure zone, which allows the IMI to be increased tenfold on these properties.

“Our urban pressure zone has a curious characteristic: it encompasses an ARU [Área de Reabilitação Urbana]the ARU of the historic center”, highlighted the president of the municipality, Fernando Ruas, after the publication, in Diário da República, of the diploma on the delimitation of Viseu.

Fernando Ruas added that, with this delimitation of the urban pressure zone, the Municipality of Viseu “fortunately gains a new instrument to try to reduce this problem of buildings in ruins”.

“We have the possibility of multiplying the IMI [Imposto Municipal sobre Imóveis] 10 times more, that is, the owners of buildings in ruins, if they did not resolve their properties, will pay an IMI 10 times higher”, he clarified.

According to the area that the municipality selected, the delimitation covers the vacant buildings that are on Avenida 25 de Abril, Avenida da Europa, the northern entrance to the city, next to Cava de Viriato, or at the entrance to Nelas and Serra da Estrela.

“At this entrance, for those coming from the mountains, there are a series of vacant buildings, of which I don’t even know who the owners are, right up to the old cemetery, which does not favor that area”, explained Fernando Ruas.

In his opinion, “there is a substantial part” of the interior of the city delineated by the ring road, which “is left out” of this delimitation now published in Diário da República (DR).

After this publication, Viseu will “start a survey, that is, it will make an inventory of all the vacant buildings existing in that pressure zone, this will be the immediate work” to be carried out, assured the mayor.

“This is an urban planning instrument that councils should have. Not many do, but they should [ter]because it allows this type of building not to last forever and which ends up existing a lot, especially in more inland regions”, he maintained.