In a private meeting of the municipal executive, the proposal signed by the Housing councilor, Filipa Roseta (PSD), was made viable unanimously, with votes in favour of “Novos Tempos” (PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança) — the only ones with assigned portfolios and who govern without an absolute majority —, PS, PCP, Cidadãos Por Lisboa (elected by the PS/Livre coalition), Livre and BE, according to an official source from the municipality, and reported by Lusa.

The 7th edition of the SMAA sets the minimum value of the household's overall income at 6 thousand euros to access this housing support, to allow more people to access the program and benefit from monthly support in paying their rent.

According to the proposal, the new edition of the SMAA also maintains the possibility of candidacy by “citizens residing outside of Lisbon, as long as they have moved from their address for professional reasons and are carrying out professional functions in Lisbon in the year 2024, as long as they can prove this condition, they are not required to have tax domicile at the address in the lease contract”.

What is the Municipal Affordable Rent Subsidy?

SMAA is financial support provided by the municipality of Lisbon for those who spend more than 30% of their income on the monthly rent of a house rented in the private market.

Having a budget allocation of €500,000 for the 7th edition of SMAA, the municipality said it will continue paying beneficiaries from previous editions “as long as they apply for this purpose”.

“In recent years, the inadequacy of the housing market to the existing reality, whether due to the inflation of rents, or the increase in demand and decrease in supply, leads the population to have increasing difficulty in accessing and maintaining housing, making housing one of the biggest current problems and difficult to solve”, reads the chamber's proposal, noting that the seriousness of the problem remains, which requires the continued application of extraordinary measures to support the population.

In a statement, the Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas (PSD), assured that the executive is “strongly committed” to responding to the difficulties that the population faces in accessing housing in the city.

“We have been working daily, since the first hour, to speed up these responses, with the construction of new houses, the rehabilitation of municipal housing that was closed when we started the mandate and a reinforced commitment to the income support program”, said Carlos Moedas, revealing that “more than 1,700 supports have already been granted through SMAA”.

The registration period for the new edition of SMAA “should open at the beginning of November and extend until mid-December, taking place online, on the Habitar Lisboa Platform”.