The Minister of Infrastructure and Housing said that the State is considering making land available to local authorities to build affordable housing and changing land use rules to make more areas available.
Miguel Pinto Luz was in Faro this Saturday, on the occasion of City Day. He participated in the inauguration ceremony of two apartment blocks, in the Senhora da Saúde area. There 90 Controlled Cost Housing (HCC) units were built and purchased by families.
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While talking to the media he added that the Government is working and will soon announce measures that will aim to provide municipalities with more land for this type of construction.
Support of the State for Land Availability
When asked how the State can assist municipalities in securing more land for HCC, Miguel Pinto Luz offered a solution. This question was raised in response to a challenge previously mentioned by the Mayor of Faro, Rogério Bacalhau. Luz explained that the State could help by utilizing its own assets.
The minister said:
The State has a lot of assets, but it can put these assets at the service of local authorities and citizens, that is why these public assets exist.
However, he refused to discuss TAP and the opposition’s criticisms of how the Portuguese airline was privatized in 2015. He also said that there is a second aspect in which the State can support local authorities, which involves changing the rules on land use.
The Housing Minister added:
And that is what we are going to do, and what I said earlier will be made public in the coming weeks.
Regarding the blocks on Rua Capitães de Abril in Faro, Pinto Luz commented on how they were built by the private company Ferreira and later acquired by the municipality. This acquisition was supported by the Institute of Housing and Urban Rehabilitation (IHRU) and the Recovery and Resilience Plan.
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He highlighted these blocks as examples of how local authorities can successfully collaborate with private entities. According to him, this cooperation demonstrates that it is possible to find housing solutions by working together.
Achievements in Affordable Housing
Luz stressed that this was an initiative by the Faro City Council. He believes a private investor can help achieve the final result in two and a half years. The mayor said that highlights the fact that it is possible to sell HCC houses to the Portuguese. He argued saying:
And this is very important to highlight, because we often hear that it is impossible, that there are no market dynamics, that the values do not match the dynamics of the private sector. Here it was possible. It is an example, it has been completed, 90 homes have been completed, and that is worth noting.
Miguel Pinto Luz expressed his gratitude to the municipalities for their enormous effort in addressing the housing crisis in Portugal. He emphasized that despite this being primarily a State responsibility, the mayors have not turned their backs on the issue and have worked diligently to help overcome it.
