The aim is to create an offer for families with difficulties in renting a home and young people who want to emancipate themselves.
Matosinhos City Council is to launch a program to promote cooperative housing at affordable prices for families with difficulties in renting and young people who want to emancipate themselves, according to a proposal to which Lusa has had access.
The Cooperative Housing Support Program, a proposal that will be discussed this Wednesday, April 24, 2024, at an extraordinary meeting of the municipal executive, aims to make housing cooperatives an alternative to the traditional real estate market.
“The Support Program for Cooperative Housing in Matosinhos aims to promote the development of cooperative housing in the municipality at affordable prices, through a set of measures that support the creation, management and sustainability of housing cooperatives,” says the proposal.
The aim is to implement a model to support the construction of housing to be integrated into the affordable rent scheme, in which the building is the collective property of the cooperative without the possibility of being sold to the cooperators, he points out.
According to the municipality, housing cooperatives have been and must continue to be built around a strong sense of community.
He adds: “In addition to housing, the cooperative creates ‘habitat’ and community by sharing common spaces, fostering social relationships and an environment of collaboration, and improving the surrounding public space.”
Cooperative housing rules in Matosinhos
- In the first phase, 100 homes are to be built, and housing cooperatives can apply to the support program individually or as a group, the proposal stresses.
- This program is aimed at families with difficulties in accessing the housing market, young people who want to emancipate themselves and people with special housing needs.
- In terms of support, the municipality, led by socialist Luísa Salgueiro, is giving away the right to use a piece of municipal land free of charge for 90 years, renewable for the same period.
- At the end of the contract, or if the cooperative is declared liquid, the municipal land and buildings revert to the municipality free of charge.
- The municipality will carry out the accessibility and public space works and the cooperative will connect the building networks to the public networks.
- In addition, the municipality is giving amaximum of 75,000 euros to the cooperative awarded the contract for the architectural project, exemption from urban planning fees,
- Municipal Property Tax (IMI) and VAT at 6%.
- The legal and administrative formalities relating to the contracting, execution and supervision of the work are the responsibility of the cooperative, as are the financial charges arising from it, the proposal points out.
