The leader of Iniciativa Liberal (IL), Rui Rocha, unveiled the party’s housing policy proposals this Wednesday morning in Lisbon, emphasizing the reduction of VAT in construction, accelerating processes for building homes, and providing incentives for landlords with properties available for rent.
“We propose reducing VAT in construction and speeding up procedures because building in Portugal takes far too long—it’s a real ordeal, a trial. It requires a great deal of courage to build in Portugal. From the rental market perspective, we have ten thousand houses in urban pressure zones that are vacant, and we must ask why they are not entering the rental market,” Rui Rocha stated to journalists in Lisbon.
Among the incentives for property owners, who find the current system disadvantageous, IL aims to lower the tax on rental income so that “those who own a house are encouraged to rent it out.”
“A landlord currently pays a base tax of 25%. We want property owners to pay 15% so that they feel that the return on investment justifies the risk,” explained the leader of Iniciativa Liberal.
Rui Rocha considers these measures essential, describing the housing crisis in Portugal as a “real scandal.”
“We have young people who cannot leave their parents’ homes, families that have grown and need bigger houses but can’t find them, and even people who have separated but must continue living together. We have reached the limits of acceptability regarding the housing crisis. We need more houses available, which means constructing more homes and having more houses in the rental market,” he added.
Portugal is set to hold early legislative elections on May 18, as announced by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on March 13. This decision follows the Parliament’s rejection of a confidence motion in the government, resulting in the resignation of the PSD/CDS coalition administration.
