In the motion signed by the BE councillor in Lisbon, Manuel Grilo, to which Lusa had access and which should be presented on 12 March, in a private meeting of the municipal executive, it is defended that the municipality urges the Government “to proceed with the survey of vacant properties acquired in connection with the granting of gold visas”.
In addition, and under the current legal framework, “the requisition mechanisms for public purposes must be considered in order to reinforce the housing supply in the municipality and, in such cases, define the obligation for these properties to be leased, within the scope of the Affordable Income Programme”.
In the text it is mentioned that, from 2012 until the end of 2017, the municipality of Lisbon concentrated 47 percent of gold visas (regime of Residence Permits for Investment), about 2,423 visas, linked to real estate.
“Despite the opacity of the data related to this process, the bias in the price per square metre and the lease through real estate speculation, produced by the easy and guaranteed business of gold visas, is recognised today,” reads the motion signed by councillor of BE, a party that has a city governance agreement with the PS.
The statement continues by saying that “selling Portuguese citizenship in exchange
for an investment of
€500,000, has introduced unacceptable discrimination”.
The average cost per square metre in Lisbon is “€3,205, double that of Porto and triple the national average”, with “these biases in house prices producing unacceptable forms of exclusion, pushing new and old out of the city, when renting a T2 exceeds €900 per month, which is unaffordable for a young couple with an average salary”, is highlighted.
In November, the Lisbon Municipal Assembly approved the new Municipal Regulation on the Right to Housing, which stipulates, among other measures, the creation of an affordable income programme aimed at young people and the middle classes.
According to the new regulation, which establishes the rules of the Affordable Income Programme (PRA), housing prices “are defined in such a way that each person and each family spends a maximum of 30 percent of their net salary on rent”, explained the mayor, in early July, adding that the effort rate is reduced by “two percentage points for each dependent child”.
Call to rent out vacant golden visa homes
in News · 13 Mar 2020, 01:00 · 5 Comments
What utter nonsense! Mr. Grilo should be prosecuted for hate speech against property owners. It is their property, so their decision what they do with it, including if they want to leave it empty. A person is not a servant to the State, it should be quite the reverse!
Does he also want to requisition my car sitting in my garage unused today, in favour of someone who tells him they need it more than me? Where would this nonsense end?
Housing crises are made worse by Socialist policies which demonise private ownership and landlords, and strongly deter people from renting out their properties which then reduces the supply of housing available for rent. BE and PS both believe in 'fantasy' economics, thinking that government has the solution to everything and that miraculously, they can wave a magic wand and make poverty, unemployment and homelessness disappear. The only thing more concerning is thinking of the millions of people who vote for this nonsense and thereby perpetuate these myths.
By Billy Bissett from Porto on 13 Mar 2020, 10:39
100% agree with Billy. Totally Absurd.
By AJ from Lisbon on 13 Mar 2020, 13:17
Instead of protecting owner's rights! Exteme nonsense
By Sam from Algarve on 13 Mar 2020, 17:12
I agree with mr bissett BE with their way of making polocy are making Portugal go backwards. They only think in them selves the most retrogued people on earth
By José Ferreira from Lisbon on 13 Mar 2020, 18:10
In a recent television program in Australia, it was mentioned that the huge amounts of criminal money circulating around the world were used to buy property let that property sit for a while, then re sell the property legitimately and pocket the funds, it's called money washing in some countries, this has resulted in property prices in cities like Sydney rise into the stratosphere making it completely un affordable for any young family to buy a home, does it resemble anything here ?
By Mr John from Other on 17 Mar 2020, 11:38