The municipal director of housing, Marta Sotto-Mayor, addressed an occurrence at the ceremony of the 29th raffle of the Accessible Rent Programme (PRA), apologizing on behalf of the municipality to all involved in the previous draw, which was annulled due to not being conducted publicly.
“We will now proceed with the raffle in a public act, with everyone present via streaming or in the room, to accompany the allocation raffle for 133 homes,” stated the municipal leader, adding that there were 7,362 applications for this draw.
The official indicated that a new draw, with approximately 130 homes, will be launched at the beginning of July. Unsuccessful candidates from this round may participate, and by the year’s end, the municipality intends to have a set of about 500 homes under construction.
“The constructions are still ongoing, but we are conducting the contests for housing allocations in order to timely identify occupants and verify the compliance of applications,” she explained.
After verifying the documents submitted by selected candidates, Marta Sotto-Mayor acknowledged that there are, unfortunately, many cases of rejections and withdrawals due to incomplete documentation. She advised the alternates to remain vigilant as they might be called upon to replace those unable to meet the requirements for receiving the keys to municipal housing.
The public draw was carried out with the same pool of applicants from the annulled raffle, which took place a day earlier than scheduled when services were conducting verifications and messages were sent to candidates informing them of their selection.
The Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas (PSD), reiterated that a human error occurred involving a municipal employee who inadvertently, and while fatigued, pressed a button that triggered an illegal action, as the contest should be held publicly.
Regarding the housing allocation communications in the canceled draw, Carlos Moedas clarified that the houses were allocated but not assigned since once these emails are sent, all documentation must be reviewed. He noted that many allocations do not finalise due to this verification process.
“We are analyzing and will contact the individuals concerned to assess the situation, as it is crucial not to rush decisions because many would not have been awarded housing as the allocation required confirmation,” the mayor stated.
Questioned about individuals who feel aggrieved by the error in the municipal housing lottery and are preparing a lawsuit against the council, the social democrat committed to reviewing these cases, especially the severe ones, to seek resolutions and avoid legal proceedings.
To address this, the Housing Councillor, Filipa Roseta (PSD), initiated an internal inquiry on June 17, lasting 30 days, and on June 20, decided to launch a public procedure to hire an external entity to certify house allocation raffles.
On Wednesday, the council unanimously approved the PS proposal for an “external and independent audit” of the 29th PRA contest process.
