In an interview, Virgílio Lima revealed that young members of Associação Mutualista Montepio Geral, which boasts 600,000 members, are struggling to pay rent or purchase homes. To address this, the organization plans to launch a housing program.
“We allocate around 50 million euros annually for this purpose. This could equate to approximately 200 homes per year for our members. Over a four-year term, we could be discussing about 800 homes,” Lima stated.
In densely populated member areas, Montepio will acquire or build houses for lease to members. In regions with fewer members, they may select desired houses, which the association will purchase and rent to them. There also exists the option for members to buy the leased house after a period, such as 15 or 20 years.
“The intention of this leasing is not to generate income for the association but to meet members’ needs. Essentially, we only recover the cost of factors,” Lima emphasized, noting that rent would be below market rates.
The association will also offer another solution for elderly individuals or couples. Those in retirement with their own homes can sell the property to the association at market value, establishing a lifetime rent to fund assisted living, such as Montepio residences. The acquired houses will also integrate this housing modality.
Montepio owns income-generating properties rented out to provide returns on members’ savings, with 1,000 such homes currently available at discounted rates for members.
The production of member-focused housing, addressing the housing crisis, has long been advocated by opposition members to the current mutualist management, especially underscored in the current elections by List B, which is competing solely for the representative assembly.
Addressing criticism regarding transparency within the group, Virgílio Lima refuted such claims, asserting that all assembly members receive timely information and pose necessary questions. He highlighted that there is now more scrutiny and control than when issues were presented at poorly attended general assemblies.
Moreover, the Board of Directors includes non-executive members who oversee the actions of the executives.
Virgílio Lima also mentioned that the mutual fund is updating existing programs to better meet member needs, including a new preventive health care plan.
