“We believe that the public component [of housing provision] is important and has its place; indeed, Lisbon City Council has long been, for many years, an example of this,” said the councillor.

The councillor was speaking during a hearing at the 3rd Standing Committee on Urban Planning of the Lisbon Municipal Assembly (AML), regarding the proposal to revoke the simplified detailed plan for the Parque Oriente Urban Project, during which he stated that the developer of the housing development on the site of the former Barros factory in Olivais had expressed the intention to provide the municipality with affordable housing instead of a library.

During the consideration of the proposal, MP Margarida Bentes Penedo, of Chega, asked whether the PSD/CDS-PP/IL administration, led by Social Democrat Carlos Moedas, is convinced that the construction and public ownership of housing is “the only way” to bring down house prices and, consequently, make them more affordable, or whether it is open to other possibilities, and whether it considers that there are policy instruments to contribute to this aim.

More ways to access housing

In response, the Councillor for Urban Planning and Housing rejected the idea that the only way to address housing affordability is through public construction and public ownership, and argued that the executive cannot do without all stakeholders, including private developers.

However, he highlighted the public sector’s role in housing, presenting data from Gebalis, the municipal company responsible for managing Lisbon’s 66 municipal housing estates.

“Of Gebalis’s more than 21,000 contracts, 63% involve rents below €100, 30% rents below €25, so this clearly demonstrates the importance of public housing, in the sense that, if rents are at this level, it is because this is what the families living there – the 10% of Lisbon’s inhabitants who live in municipal housing – can afford,” revealed Vasco Moreira Rato.

Affordable Rent Programme

The mayor also highlighted the Affordable Rent Programme, noting that some housing needs can be met by the free market, and emphasising the Council’s efforts on housing planning permission for projects submitted by private developers.

On resolving the housing crisis, the councillor expressed his personal opinion, noting that it is his own view alone: “I do not believe the current problem is fully understood. I do not believe anyone has the definitive solution to resolve this.”

Various reasons for the problem

Vasco Moreira Rato argued that there are various aspects, both in the problem's origin and in its development, that are new, and that the situation's development and evolution, both nationally and internationally, mean that the scenario and the underlying social and economic context are constantly changing.

“Therefore, in a context such as this, to claim to have the solution, I think, would be inappropriate and not even serious on my part,” he said.

“We will all be too few to try to solve this problem, whether it be private market housing, housing developed by private developers with affordable components – that is, affordable housing – or the construction, ownership, and management of contracts by the municipality or even by central government,” he argued.

The councillor added that the executive is “very serious and committed” to seeking partnership models with the private sector to increase the municipality's housing supply, “not least because, naturally, the municipality will not have all the resources needed to carry out this construction”.