According to idealista, housing is one of the central themes of the 2024 election programmes, at a time when access to housing is increasingly difficult and interest rates on home loans remain high.

The spectrum of proposals for housing is diverse, with parties on the left wanting to eliminate tax benefits and regularise the market, while parties on the right propose more tax incentives and greater liberalisation.


Socialist Party (PS)

After having developed Mais Habitação, which came into force last October, the Socialist Party (PS) wants to continue the work developed so far to increase the supply of homes, as well as to regulate the market, with the following measures:

  • continue public investment in the requalification, expansion and diversification of the public housing stock with a view to reaching 5% of public housing stock in the medium term (currently at 2%);
  • increase the tax on capital gains on properties sold without having been inhabited or restored;
  • increase deductible income tax expenses by 50 euros per year until it reaches 800 euros in 2028 (today it is 600 euros);
  • increase the coverage of Port 65 ;
  • revision of the formula for calculating the annual income update, now including the evolution of salaries in years with inflation above 2%;
  • create an Urban Lease Code, unifying all leasing rules into a single balanced and simplified legal instrument, and also create an entity that will monitor leasing, as well as an exceptional regime to regularize informal contracts;
  • create the Mais Habitação Counter in parishes and municipalities.


Democratic Alliance (AD)

The Democratic Alliance (AD) - a coalition formed by the PSD, CDS-PP and PPM - believes that to resolve the housing crisis it is necessary to increase the supply of homes, through the reduction https://ps.pt/ of taxes and bureaucracy, injection of public properties into the market. And, in this sense, it presents several proposals in its electoral programme to boost public and private supply, such as:

  • relaxation of land occupation limitations, urban densities (including high-rise construction) and construction demands and requirements;
  • injection of vacant or underused properties and public land into the market;
  • create an exceptional and temporary regime for the elimination or reduction of Tax Costs in construction or rehabilitation works on properties intended for permanent housing (apply VAT at 6% and reduce or eliminate urbanization, construction, use and occupation fees);
  • Create Public-Private Partnerships for large-scale construction and rehabilitation of both general housing and student accommodation;
  • Analyse and reinforce the simplification of urban licensing.
  • Facilitate new housing concepts (such as build-to-rent, 'mixed housing', modular housing or housing cooperatives );
  • Create a policy and offer public transport that supports the possibility of increasing urban perimeters.


Chega

For Chega, the way to solve housing problems involves creating more supply, less taxes, simplifying bureaucratic processes and creating an environment that attracts private investment. These are the main proposals of the party led by André Ventura for the 2024 legislative elections:

  • revocation of AIMI (Additional Municipal Property Tax);
  • abolish IMI and IMT when owning permanent housing is at stake;
  • exempt from taxation of capital gains on the sale of the home, when the value is invested in a new home for the taxpayer or descendants, even if it does not absorb the entire amount;
  • create a New Simplified Licensing Model :
  • VAT exemption on the construction of the first home;
  • tax exemption for build-to-rent projects that commit to keeping properties on the rental market for a minimum period of 15 years;
  • establish public-private partnerships to provide suitable land for housing construction;
  • apply the tax benefits currently in force for Urban Rehabilitation Areas to all property rehabilitation works;
  • apply an autonomous rate of 10% to rental income from contracts with students or permanent housing rental contracts with a term of up to 10 years and 5% for longer terms;
  • create a Municipal Tenant Registration platform;
  • invest in the public transport network for housing expansion.