In a statement, the association highlights “significant progress in the proposed guidelines,” but warns about the “need to ensure an effective implementation model, shared with sector agents and free from bureaucratic obstacles that have historically blocked the response to the housing crisis.”
The APPII views the alignment of the XXV Constitutional Government’s program, presented this week, with “several of the proposals” the association has been advocating, such as the strengthening of housing supply (public, private, and cooperative), the promotion of affordable rental, the mobilization of public assets, and a “thorough review” of urban planning licensing processes, as positive.
The government’s commitment to creating a more predictable framework for investors and promoters, as well as the intention to review the tax burden associated with construction, is also highlighted.
“This last measure, due to its relevance, is seen by APPII as a decisive factor to ensure access to housing for all citizens,” it emphasizes, reiterating its “full availability to actively contribute to the realization of this intention in the present legislature.”
Quoted in the statement, the association’s president, Hugo Santos Ferreira, argues that a government program “will only be transformative if executed with realism, rigor, and openness to those who know the field.” He asserts that responding to the current housing crisis “requires a long-term vision and, above all, mutual trust between all stakeholders.”
“However,” he warns, “the success of these measures depends on their practical application,” noting that “excess regulatory control and the lack of defined criteria and execution schedules may hinder investment and compromise the program’s effectiveness.”
In this context, he considers it “essential that the private sector’s role is always seen as part of the solution” and that planning is done “based on cooperation, regulatory stability, and implementation capacity.”
The APPII also notes that the new Government’s program “omits relevant topics for the investment sector’s dynamics,” such as the tax treatment of foreign investors (including non-habitual resident schemes and ‘golden visa’ programs) and the “clear definition of public-private partnership models.”
It argues that “the absence of quantified targets and defined deadlines is a factor of uncertainty for promoters and investors.”
Founded in 1991, the APPII is a private association representing national and foreign real estate promotion and investment companies operating in Portugal. Of its current 250 members, half are foreign companies active in the national real estate industry.
The real estate promotion and investment sector currently accounts for 15% of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The Program of the XXV Constitutional Government, resulting from the May 18 legislative elections won by the AD (PSD/CDS) coalition, was delivered to the Assembly of the Republic on Saturday by the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Carlos Abreu Amorim.
The government program was approved in the Council of Ministers on Thursday and has been under discussion in the Assembly of the Republic since Tuesday.
