Lisbon City Council adjusts criteria for affordable rent competitions to avoid losing funding

The Lisbon Chamber decided adjust the access criteria for your Affordable Income Program (PRA) competitions. On the one hand, the Municipality intends to privilege people and families in a situation of “housing shortage” and, on the other, guarantee the municipality’s access to PRR funds for the creation of new affordable housing. Thus, the PRA is now aimed at those who have an average monthly income of less than four times the social support index (IAS), that is, up to 2,037.04 €.

According to the proposal presented by the Housing Councilor, Filipa Roseta (PSD), at a recent Chamber meeting, the autarchy “made several applications (…) both for the rehabilitation of municipal properties and for the construction of new buildings” within the scope of the 1st Law Program of the IHRU (Institute of Housing and Urban Rehabilitation), to obtain financing from the PRR. The objective is, once rehabilitated or built, to make these houses available through the PRA.

It turns out that “one of the eligibility requirements for the PRR and the 1st Right Program is a situation of financial need, that is, the person or household must have an average monthly income of less than four times the social support index (IAS) to benefit from of housing financed with public support”. However, the municipal criteria are different: the PRA allows applications from people with slightly higher monthly income – €2,917, on average. I.e, “the maximum values ​​of the overall income of the housing unit, provided for in Annex IV of the RMDH [Regulamento Municipal do Direito à Habitação] are slightly higher than those corresponding to the definition of ‘financial need’, eligibility requirement for the PRR and the 1st Right”.

Like this, In order not to lose the public financing available for the rehabilitation and construction of affordable housing, the Chamber was forced to adjust the criteria of its municipal program – but only for houses financed with money from the PRR/1st Right. Annex IV of the Municipal Regulation on the Right to Housing (RMDH) will then have a new point 1.5:

“1.5. For competitions for the Affordable Income Program, promoted under the terms of this Regulation and whose scholarships are made up of fractions financed by the Recovery and Resilience Program – PRR or 1st Law, the average monthly income of the person or household must be less than four times the social support index (IAS), calculated in accordance with Decree-Law no. 37/2018, of June 4 in its current wording, or another that may be considered under the terms of this diploma and without prejudice to compliance with the its other applicable provisions.”

The proposal endorsed by the Housing Councilor was approved by a majority, with two abstentions from the PCP and 15 votes from the remaining councilors (PSD/CDS, PS, CPL, Livre and BE). “According to these parameters, of the applicant households, only 3% are not eligible”Filipa Roseta’s office clarified at the request of the Lusa agency. “The change now introduced allows us to maximize the capture of financing for all the investment that Lisbon City Council is making in housing until 2028 through the IHRU”he also indicated.

At the same meeting, the Municipal Executive approved the launch of several PRA competitions in the parish of Benficaallowing the houses that the Benfica Parish Council is rehabilitating or building, within the scope of the PRR and the 1st Right, can be made available to people. These competitions will be governed by the RMDH.