A Lusa has requested the Lisbon City Council for the progress report on the Cooperatives First Housing Lisbon program, initially approved in February following a proposal from the PSD/CDS-PP leadership. This initiative was facilitated with amendments from PS and Livre.
According to available data, the Lisbon City Council launched the first tender in 2024 under the program, aimed at constructing non-profit housing on municipal land.
This tender involves leasing a plot on Rua António do Couto in the Lumiar area for 90 years for the cooperative-based construction of an 18-apartment building. The building will feature five T1 apartments (priced at 146,000 euros each), nine T2 apartments (priced at 216,000 euros each), and four T3 apartments (priced at 289,000 euros each), along with 22 parking spots. The total investment by the cooperative is estimated at 3.83 million euros, with an average cost per residence of 213,000 euros.
Official information indicates that four proposals were submitted for this tender by CooPCC — Cooperativa Casas de Cascais, Cooperativa de Habitação Económica, Labitium Coop, and Cooperativa JHLX Jovens Habitam Lisboa. The latter was declared the winner.
The proposal’s approval for awarding the contract to JHLX Jovens Habitam Lisboa was initially set for the city council meeting last Wednesday. However, at some councilors’ request, it was postponed to the following Monday, according to a source from the office of the Housing Councilor Filipa Roseta.
In the meantime, the documents requested by the councilors in question, particularly regarding the stakeholders in the JHLX Jovens Habitam Lisboa cooperative proposal, have been distributed.
The Cooperatives First Housing Lisbon program is rooted in the legal framework of surface rights “for a period of 90 years,” applied to lands provided by the municipality. It received backing from the PSD/CDS-PP leadership, governing without an absolute majority, with abstentions from the entire opposition, including PS, Livre, Citizens for Lisbon (elected by the PS/Livre coalition), PCP, and BE.
The “New Times” proposal (PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança) was supported by incorporating amendments suggested by Livre and PS. PS proposed that housing cooperatives should be directed “only to the income range covered by the Affordable Rent Program, thereby focusing this program on young people and middle-class families.”
This addition was unanimously approved, requiring cooperators to adhere to the minimum and maximum global household income values outlined in the Municipal Housing Right Regulation for accessing affordable rent housing.
Livre’s proposal, approved despite PSD/CDS-PP opposition, stipulates that selecting cooperatives will be based on a competitive tender process, assessed against objective criteria, rather than via lottery.
The Lisbon City Council notes that the Municipal Housing Charter anticipates constructing up to 500 homes through this contractual model.
At the time of the program’s approval, the Housing Councilor mentioned that these 500 homes are “spread across the city.”
Besides Lumiar, four other projects are in preparation, including 12 homes in Benfica, 15 in Arroios, 21 in São Vicente, and 23 in Santa Clara.
