“Government will speed up the use of State properties in favor of housing policies”

The Government will place Estamo, a company that concentrates State real estate assets valued at around one billion euros, under the shared responsibility of Finance and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing. This dual guardianship, until now in the hands of the Ministry of Finance, aims to “put much of the State’s assets at the service of the population”. The revelation was made to Jornal Económico by the new Minister of Infrastructure and Housing who considers it “fundamental” to increase supply, signaling that in the next two to three weeks the Executive will present measures in Housing, after this first sign to develop a public policy in sector that affects the Government’s organization by placing Estamo under shared supervision.

“The transfer of coordination from Estamo SA to Housing is to speed up the use of State properties in favor of public housing policies. It is a clear change of paradigm in the way the current AD Government wants to manage the State’s assets and which speaks well of the ambition that this Government places in the area of ​​Housing”, the government official told JE on the sidelines of the Special Report – Real Estate Challenges in 2024, which took place this Tuesday, in Lisbon, and which was organized by Jornal Económico.

According to Miguel Pinto Luz, in practical terms with the dual guardianship of Estamo, “MIH will have the power to look at Estamo’s portfolio and, together with Finance, select the properties that are best suited to implementing a public housing policy for quality”.

During the event organized by JE, the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing had signaled that the Government’s new organization places Estamo under dual supervision of Finance and Housing, highlighting the challenge of “developing a true public housing policy, lasting and transformative.” The minister also anticipated that “in the next two to three weeks, the Government will present the measures that it considers fundamental in Housing”.

It should be remembered that Estamo replaced the Directorate-General of the Treasury (DGTF) in the management of public properties, as determined by the socialist Executive in July last year, but the supervision remained solely in the hands of the Minister of Finance, with no vocation for the promotion of public policies for housing.

At issue is the decree-law that established the new model of integrated management of public real estate assets, that is, all properties in the private domain of the State and in the indirect administration of the State.

In practice, Estamo began to perform the powers that were previously exercised by the DGTF in terms of management of public real estate assets, to allow “integrated action and more focused on professional management”. But the Ministry of Finance continued to maintain the supervision of the company with exclusively public capital created with the purpose of ensuring the administration of real estate assets in the public sphere.

The previous Government signaled that this new management model for public real estate assets aimed to “refocus the DGTF’s activities around its nuclear missions, reinforcing its capacity within the scope of State financial intervention operations, monitoring matters relating to the exercise financial protection of the public administrative and business sector and the shareholder function of the State”.

In accordance with this diploma, the integrated management of public real estate assets began to be developed by Estamo within the framework of the guidelines to be established by order of the Prime Minister, on the proposal of the member of the Government responsible for the area of ​​finance, “in order to ensure the permanent subordination of that activity to objectives of strict public interest”.

Last year, the decree-law granted Estamo the right of preference in the event of alienation or constitution of other real rights over properties of public entities belonging to the indirect administration of the State and to the State’s business sector, when these are not under its management.

The powers set out in the diploma now provide that real estate in the private domain of the State can be leased with the authorization of the member of the Government responsible for the area of ​​finance. A property selection process that will now also be shared with MIH.

It should also be remembered that the previous Executive determined the partnership between Estamo and the Institute of Housing and Urban Rehabilitation (IHRU) in the Arrendar para Subarrendar Program (PAS), one of the measures included in the More Housing package to increase the number of houses in the rental market. The measure is intended to rent properties and subsequently sublease them to families at affordable prices.

Support from mayors on the issue of licensing is one of the solutions for housing

At the event organized by JE, the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing also highlighted four measures that he considers fundamental to solving the country’s housing problems: self-promotion and the transformation of Parque Escolar into public construction; the absence of ideological prejudices towards the private sector; the support of mayors on the issue of licensing; and revisiting cooperatives.

“We know that the policies implemented in recent years have not worked. There was a concern about finding culprits and turning one against the other. Don’t count on us to pass the blame. We are looking for efficiency to enable the offer for young people”, he stated, highlighting that the country cannot have the illusion that the housing crisis will be resolved overnight.

Mais Habitação and Simplex will be revisited

“We have to find solutions together. It is essential to increase supply”, highlighted Miguel Pinto Luz at the end of the Special Report – Real Estate Challenges in 2024, organized by JE, where he anticipated that the new Executive will present “transformative measures” in the coming weeks. “We will revoke the measures that we consider to be unfair, namely Local Accommodation. We will dialogue with local authorities and investors. The revocation of forced leasing we will implement in the shortest possible time,” he added.

Miguel Pinto Luz also announced that the Government will look at Simplex and understand what can be improved: “it is normal that in an innovative process there are obstacles. We will act in the short term on a glaring bottleneck in the PRR. We have to improve the system in its different aspects. The IHRU has been our concern with everything to do with the PRR”.

Finally, the minister also noted the need to change fiscal policy, particularly for the youth segment and to debate the new construction code and align market expectations with various target audiences. “The sector has to speak eye to eye and understand the needs of the various segments”, he highlighted.