The Extraordinary Rent Support Program (PAER) has sparked controversy as several beneficiaries have not received payments due to “inconsistencies.” The government has denied any delays. Who is eligible for this support?
The extraordinary rent support is a “monthly financial support, non-refundable, up to a maximum limit of 200€, which corresponds to the difference between the actual effort rate borne by the household with rent and a maximum effort rate of 35%,” according to the information provided on the Portal da Habitação.
Who qualifies for this support?
According to the same site, families can benefit from the support if they meet the following criteria:
- Have fiscal residence in Portugal;
- Hold a lease or sublease contract for primary housing, registered with the AT and signed by March 15, 2023;
- Have an effort rate with the rent payment equal to or greater than 35%;
- Have an annual income equal to or less than the maximum limit of the 6th IRS bracket (2023: 38,632€) or, if not required to submit the annual IRS declaration, have a total monthly income equal to or less than 1/14 of the maximum limit of the 6th IRS bracket for monthly income from work declared to Social Security or the following social benefits:
- Pensions for old age, survival, disability, or social pensions;
- Unemployment or parental benefits;
- Social insertion income, social inclusion benefit, or solidarity supplement for the elderly;
- Illness and occupational disease benefits (granted for not less than one month) or support for informal caregivers.
The extraordinary rent support is granted “without the need to make a request,” and “families meeting the eligibility criteria are informed by the AT of the amount of support allocated and the data considered for its determination.”
“The support is granted until December 31, 2028, notwithstanding the support being re-evaluated annually,” it is explained on the same Portal.
How and when is the support payment made?
According to the Portal da Habitação, the “payment of the support is automatic (no need to make any request) and is paid by Social Security (via bank transfer) by the 20th of each month.
“With the payment of the first monthly installment of the support, payments related to rents paid since January 1, 2023, are also made retroactively. If the calculated support is less than 20 euros, it will be paid every six months,” it is further explained.
“Where the State fails is in not informing people promptly.”
The Housing Minister acknowledged on Monday that the State has failed in informing those who have not yet benefited from the Extraordinary Rent Support Program (PAER) due to “inconsistencies,” but denies any delays.
“Where the State fails is in not informing these people promptly. I assumed that, and the IHRU [Institute of Housing and Urban Rehabilitation] will make that contact. Finance has already contacted more than 40,000 of those citizens who apply for these supports, and we will continue if the inconsistencies are not resolved,” said Miguel Pinto Luz when questioned again about the delays, which several people continue to complain about, having even sent emails to the newsrooms.
However, the minister again denied that there are delays, insisting that those who can benefit from PAER should regularize the “inconsistencies” found in their process.
“There is absolutely no delay,” he stressed, speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the inauguration of the ISCTE multi-core fiber optic test bank in Lisbon.
The PAER is, therefore, “up to date,” although with “those inconsistencies” which “have to be resolved and will be in due course,” assured the minister, estimating around 40,000 beneficiaries of the extraordinary rent support in that situation.
“If people initially received and now do not, it’s because they either have inconsistencies or no longer meet the conditions to receive this support,” emphasized Pinto Luz.
On Friday, before parliamentarians, the minister provided examples of discrepancies: landlords’ and tenants’ IRS not matching, or people with zero income needing to explain how they pay the rent.
“If the inconsistencies are not resolved, the State does not pay. Resolving the inconsistencies, the State pays and pays retroactively, meaning no one loses a single euro,” the official noted.
