More than 1,150 families were waiting for municipal housing in Porto at the end of 2023, the year in which 324 houses were delivered, Porto City Council revealed today.
In response to the Lusa news agency, the municipality said today that 1,155 families were waiting on a housing allocation list at the end of last year.
The number of families waiting for municipal housing has increased compared to the end of 2022, when there were 920 households.
“Domus Social [the municipal company responsible for the housing stock] has felt greater pressure on housing requests, a scenario caused above all by the increase in private rental values whose family incomes cannot keep up with,” the municipality points out.
According to the municipality, over the last three years there has been a “slight increase in the average household income”, which in 2023 would be 809 euros.
The municipality of Porto points out, however, that this is “a relatively volatile figure”, since Domus Social “allocates housing and, at the same time, approves the entry onto the waiting list of new households”.
“The current number of households on the housing allocation list is also due to the fact that around 20% of applicants reject their first housing offer. In other words, many applicants choose to remain on the list and wait for a second offer of housing, as provided for in the regulations,” he says.
According to the municipality, the reasons for applicants waiting for a second offer of housing are mainly due to the location of the house or the fact that they don’t feel the house meets their needs.
The Porto City Council also told Lusa that 324 homes were handed over last year, a figure that also includes “requests for the transfer of families”, mainly due to issues related to reduced mobility.
“With an ageing population, this is an increasingly challenging reality when it comes to managing the municipal housing stock,” he adds.
The municipal company Domus Social manages 48 neighborhoods in the municipality of Porto, where social housing represents 13% of the built heritage and where around 30,000 people live.
The municipal budget for 2024 includes an allocation of 53.6 million euros for urban planning and housing, of which 50.3 million euros are earmarked for urban regeneration.
The document also allocates 22.8 million euros to social housing (which is part of Social Cohesion), which includes an investment of 20.2 million euros to be made in the housing stock by the municipal company Domus Social.
