The Loures City Council, led by Ricardo Leão (PS), has addressed a letter to the president of the Lisbon Metropolitan Council, Basílio Horta, highlighting the “scale and severity” of the housing crisis and calling for an urgent and coordinated response. The letter warns of the potential reoccurrence of issues seen in the metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto during the 1980s and 1990s.
“The lack of housing supply, and the unaffordable rental and purchase prices, have led to the construction of precarious housing by those who see no alternative for access to decent accommodation,” the document states.
Ricardo Leão emphasizes that municipalities have been “the first to seek solutions,” citing the high number of applications submitted under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) for housing rehabilitation and construction.
However, the socialist mayor warns that with the conclusion of the PRR, municipalities will lose the opportunity to obtain 100% financing.
“The burden of maintaining housing stock has fallen on municipalities, incurring significant and ongoing costs to their budgets,” the letter further notes.
In response, the Loures City Council proposes that the Government should continue to ensure investment in housing construction and rehabilitation, while municipalities handle the expenses of maintenance and conservation.
This new instrument, the municipality argues, should include “defined and specific rules” that are suitable for the particular reality of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area.
Thus, the municipality requests that this topic be included in one of the upcoming meetings of the Lisbon Metropolitan Council, aiming to establish a plan for engagement with the Government and coordination among the municipalities of the AML to collectively address housing challenges.
