“We are rigorous, truthful, but we have to be human,” stated Councilwoman Filipa Roseta (PSD), noting that of the 300 resolved cases, “slightly more than 100 were unoccupied, slightly more than 100 have been vacated, and slightly more than 100 have been regularized.”
The council member in charge of Housing spoke at the Lisbon Municipal Assembly meeting, during the discussion of a Chega party proposal concerning the identification and eviction of illegally occupied social housing to make them available to Lisbon residents on waiting lists. The proposal was rejected with votes against from BE, Livre, PEV, PCP, and PS, and votes in favor from PSD, IL, MPT, Aliança, CDS-PP, and Chega.
Filipa Roseta revealed that at the beginning of the current 2021-2025 term, the municipality registered “more than 800 families without regularized situations” regarding municipal housing occupation, asserting that this situation “is not normal” and constitutes “a very heavy legacy.”
The Chega recommendation suggested a “thorough assessment of illegally occupied municipal housing,” a proposal the Housing council member argued “should not be controversial” and “no one should vote against this,” emphasizing that the municipality decided to pursue this in 2022, identifying “more than 1,000” illegal occupations.
The PSD councilor explained that these abusive occupations “include everything,” even relatives staying in homes without a rental agreement with the municipality: “Houses are not inherited in our city; they do not pass from parents to children.”
Currently, there are 700 unresolved illegal occupations, with 600 having submitted documents and the municipality is already aware of the occupants, processing each case individually and allowing response time from residents, disclosed Filipa Roseta, indicating the issue is “viewed family by family.”
The Housing councilor described cases of “significant social vulnerability,” involving people who “if they had applied, would have received housing,” along with a lack of awareness regarding support allocations.
“The goal is to assist those in greatest need,” expressed Filipa Roseta, clarifying that “everything else is vacated” and stating that regularizations concern situations recorded until the end of the pandemic, in October 2021. Currently, for attempts to occupy houses, where “more than 400” have been registered, immediate eviction is enforced to “stem the phenomenon.”
The PS did not comment but voted against, leading to the rejection of the proposal, followed by criticism from right-wing deputies.
From the PSD, Luís Newton remarked that the distinction between social democrats and socialists lies in the belief that rules must be followed, and “those who comply should be respected, those who do not should be penalized,” expressing “outrage” at the PS’s stance, accusing them of being “disloyal and irresponsible” against the best interests of Lisbon residents.
In protest, PS deputy José Leitão argued that the Chega proposal “does not materialize” the policy the municipality has adhered to, “as it has legalized illegal occupations for humanitarian and objective reasons.”
“If it were not for this current convergence between PSD and Chega, PSD would never have voted on this Chega motion,” the socialist charged.
The Chega recommendation sought the “urgent eviction” of illegally occupied properties, as well as preventing the legalization of any illegal occupation that harms applicant listings.
