With this proposal, which will still have to be voted on by the Lisbon Municipal Assembly, the suspension of new registrations of local accommodation will apply in 15 of the 24 parishes in the city, that is, only nine can accommodate new establishments.

Approved in a private meeting of the municipal executive, with the support of the PCP and the independent councillor elected by the PS/Livre coalition and with the votes against the PSD/CDS-PP leadership, the proposal by PS, BE and Livre provides for “the immediate suspension of the authorisation of new registrations of local accommodation establishments, for a new period of six months, counting from the end of the suspension period currently in force and until the amendment to the Municipal Regulation for Local Accommodation enters into force”.

After the vote, the councillor for Urbanism, Joana Almeida (independently elected by the coalition “Novos Tempos” PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança), lamented that “opposition parties are once again blocking the will of President Carlos Moedas [PSD] on such an important issue for the city”.

“For our part, we sought and defended a balanced and reasoned solution. The opposition wants to report and take action based on 2011 data. This cannot be taken seriously. Does not make sense. It's blocking for the sake of blocking”, said Joana Almeida, in statements to the Lusa agency.

Ratios compared to family homes

Based on the data on the weight of local accommodation relative to classic family accommodation in the 24 parishes of the city of Lisbon, presented in the proposal, the number of parishes with a ratio above 2.5% increased from 14 to 15, with the entry of Campolide, which joins Santa Maria Maior (52%), Misericórdia (39%), Santo António (26%), São Vicente (16%), Arroios (14%), Estrela (11%), Avenidas Novas (7%) , Alcântara (5%), Belém (4%), Campo de Ourique (4%), Parque das Nações (4%) and Penha de França (4%), Ajuda (3%) and Areeiro (3%).

In addition to these parishes, the ban on new establishments in areas considered to be “absolute containment” remains, namely Bairro Alto/Madragoa, Castelo/Alfama/Mouraria, Colina de Santana, Baixa and Avenida da Liberdade/Avenida da República/Avenida Almirante Reis, according to the Municipal Regulation for Local Accommodation, in force since November 2019, which also establishes a relative containment zone, with limited registration in Graça and Bairro das Colónias.

Considering that the problem of access to housing in Lisbon and neighbouring municipalities is “notorious” and “the size of the number of family dwellings withdrawn from the housing market being clear today”, PS, BE and Livre argue that “it is urgent” to proceed in the direction of the limitation of the opening of new local accommodation in the capital and, consequently, to initiate the procedure of alteration of the Municipal Regulation of Local Accommodation, as an instrument of regulation of the housing market, pointing out as “essential to initiate a broad debate in the city”.

The first suspension of new local accommodation registrations was applied in 14 of the 24 parishes of Lisbon, for a period of at least six months, and came into force on April 15 of this year, as a result of the approval of the proposal of the councillors elected by the PS/Livre coalition by the two representative bodies of the municipality.

At the time of that decision, the mayor of Lisbon considered that the “immediate suspension” of new registrations of local accommodation is “a very negative sign” for the local economy, criticising the left-wing parties that approved the proposal.