Lisbon City Council approves motion to maintain limits on local accommodation – Politics

This Wednesday, the Lisbon City Council approved, by majority, a PS motion that defends the non-revocation of the limitations on local accommodation in force in the city, urging the executive leadership to negotiate this guarantee with the Government.

In the motion, approved with votes against from the “Novos Tempos” coalition (PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança) and in favor of the remaining political forces, it is stated that “access to housing is the biggest challenge facing Lisbon read” and that “the increase in real estate demand has kept the value of properties and rents unaffordable for the middle class”.

“According to official data, around 8,200 local accommodations did not provide proof of life, within the legal deadline established for this purpose, without the Lisbon City Council having initiated the respective prior hearings that will allow those registrations to be canceled, and, therefore, way, to migrate those dwellings to housing”, reads the motion, to which the Lusa agency had access.

The signatories of the document emphasize that the elimination of limitations on local accommodation, in force in some areas of the city of Lisbon, could worsen problems in access to housing and urge the president of the municipality, Carlos Moedas (PSD), to negotiate with the Government , led by social democrat Luís Montenegro, maintaining the measures.

“We are well aware that the CDS and PSD have always voted against any measure limiting local accommodation, but, Mr President, what we ask of you is that with this motion you put aside ideological rigidity and respond to people’s real problems”, said socialist deputy Inês Drummond, during the presentation of the document.

In this sense, the approved motion urges the Government, “in matters of housing, in the municipalities where housing shortages have been declared, not to revoke the limitations on local accommodation in force”, mandating the Mayor of Lisbon as an intermediary in the process.

It is also intended that Carlos Moedas negotiate with the Government not to revoke the limitations on ‘gold’ visas and the regime for non-habitual residents in force, “under penalty of access to housing becoming even further away from the capacity of families in the municipality of Lisbon”.

The Government Program (PSD-CDS/PP), presented in the Assembly of the Republic on April 10, includes the revocation of measures from the Mais Habitação program, including the “penalty measures” for local accommodation.

The document indicates that the extraordinary contribution on this activity and the expiration of licenses prior to the Mais Habitação program will be revoked “immediately”.

The executive of the Lisbon Chamber, which is made up of 17 members, includes seven elected members of the “Novos Tempos” coalition (PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança) — who are the only ones with assigned responsibilities and who govern without a majority absolute –, three from the PS, two from the PCP, three from Cidadãos Por Lisboa (elected by the PS/Livre coalition), one from Livre and one from BE.