In Figueira da Foz, Luís Montenegro, accompanied by the top candidate of the AD for Coimbra, Minister of Justice Rita Júdice, visited a rehabilitation project of old military buildings alongside the mayor, Pedro Santana Lopes. These buildings had been abandoned for decades.
Speaking to journalists, the Prime Minister advocated the government’s strategy to encourage an increase in both public and private housing supply, asserting that he does not believe the market alone can resolve all issues in this sector.
“I hope that by the end of this decade, we have increased supply to ease the difficulty of accessing housing and that we can, possibly within a 10-year horizon, correct all the accumulated challenges,” he remarked, although he refrained from setting a specific date for resolving the housing crisis.
Montenegro emphasized the complexity of significantly moderating housing prices in a short time. “This doesn’t happen anywhere in the world; anyone who tries to sell this illusion is speaking about something that doesn’t exist,” he warned.
He noted that “people cannot wait 5, 10, 15 years for the effects” of structural policies, highlighting the role of public authorities in providing necessary support during this transitional phase, both for renting and buying.
The leader of the PSD/CDS-PP coalition highlighted measures taken by his administration, such as tax exemptions for young people purchasing their first home, dismissing claims that these measures had inadvertently increased prices.
“You might say I didn’t reverse the growth trend, but it wasn’t because of this that prices rose,” he stated.
He reiterated the goal of having 59,000 new homes available “at affordable costs by the state” by 2029, and ongoing negotiations with the European Investment Bank to fund local housing strategies in municipalities aiming for the construction of approximately 136,000 new public houses.
Regarding the project visited today, Pedro Santana Lopes explained that it aims to create 60 apartments with “affordable rents,” primarily for young students.
The former PSD leader highlighted the challenging bureaucratic process and negotiations involving the ministries of Defense and Housing, acknowledging that former housing minister, Socialist Marina Gonçalves, played a constructive role.
“This government has been a machine in its responsiveness and ability to move things forward,” he praised.
