The Government is preparing to approve, this Thursday, 12th March, a package of amendments to the rental law aimed at restoring landlords’ confidence and, in turn, bringing more homes onto the market, according to a report by the national newspaper Diário de Notícias (DN).
Among the proposed changes is a relaxation of eviction procedures in cases of repeated non-compliance, with the goal of speeding up judicial decisions.
The bill, which will be approved by the Council of Ministers, also includes support measures for tenants in vulnerable situations, according to one of the sources consulted by DN. “This is not about making evictions easier, but about speeding up judicial decisions for those who repeatedly fail to meet their obligations, while protecting the most vulnerable and correcting injustices,” the source said.
The main objective of these changes is to increase the number of homes available for rent, particularly the thousands of properties currently off the market due to ongoing legal battles, despite being in habitable condition.
According to a recent study by the Institute for Housing and Urban Rehabilitation (IHRU), presented last July, around 250,000 homes in Portugal that are in good condition remain outside both the sales and rental markets. The same report notes that these vacant properties are concentrated mainly in municipalities where housing demand is also highest, particularly in the metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto.
It should be recalled that, at the end of last year, the Government, through the Minister for Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, unveiled a package of measures aimed at the rental market, focusing on tax incentives and increasing supply.
The proposals include “moderate rents” of up to €2,300 for middle-income households, reduced income tax for landlords (10% or 0%), the strengthening of the Porta 65 housing support scheme, and tax exemptions for new construction.
The push to streamline the rental market has been one of the flagship policies of the parties in the governing coalition and was already outlined in their respective electoral programmes. In the platform presented for the last legislative elections, the Democratic Alliance (AD) proposed boosting confidence in the rental market by introducing secure long-term rental contracts, reviewing and accelerating dispute resolution in cases of non-compliance, and assessing the creation of a rent insurance mechanism.
The measures due to be approved by the Government today in the Council of Ministers come on the eve of a parliamentary debate and vote on several party proposals concerning the rental market.
Source: DN / IHRU
