"We have to put the vacant buildings to use, we have to use the public ones and we have to use the private ones", said the councillor for Housing at the Lisbon City Council.
According to Filipa Roseta, who referred to data from recent surveys, there are almost 48,000 "empty houses in the county, which are not indicated either as main housing or secondary housing, with no housing function".
"It's a huge number. Our mission at the Municipal Council [of Housing] is to understand how we are going to invite the owners of these almost 48,000 houses to come to work with us ", stated Filipa Roseta.
The councillor stated, in response to questions from municipal deputies, that the Chamber is "doing their job" to "understand what these 48,000 dwellings are" and considered that the Municipal Housing Council, reactivated by this executive,"will be fundamental for this" and to "encourage private individuals to put their houses on the market".
"This is extremely important", considered the PSD councillor.
Filipa Roseta recalled that the Lisbon City Council owns 2,000 of these vacant houses and said that their rehabilitation and placement on the city's housing market are "the urgent mission" and "immediate responsibility" of the municipality.
Canadian investment in abandon homes in lisbon....Tourism villages
By Sadru Nazarali from Lisbon on 14 Jan 2022, 21:23
Theses unoccupied properties are screaming out loud that the Portuguese property laws are a failure and the related systems are dysfunctional. These vacant properties are the result of all the basic systems having failed.
If one can't recognise or understand that then educate yourself on property systems and compare with worldwide systems.
Make comparisons of Portugal's laws with other countries (eg Australia, UK, Germany......) and it will be blatantly clear.
No, survey system defining and protecting ownership, no functioning legal system that is fast, efficient and equally protects all parties,
No consistent and effective planning and controls.
Question and challenge the current systems and it will be very clear.
Ask yourself, what stops Investors from buying up and renting out vacant properties? The law is against them and the risks are too high. Result: they invest overseas and properties remain vacant in Portugal
Look at the amount of developments stopped and abandoned. Where in the world do you see that? And why? Câmara's don't function and finance systems can't function because laws don't protect property rights adequately to finance projects.
The biggest laugh is owners names and details of the properties are not public knowledge. Because of "Privacy Laws"?
Property rights issued to the public by a public governing body (government) is kept secret? How underhand and clandestine is that?
Every citizen should and has the right to know about these. To explain differently, if property info is secret then what stops politicians, and government officials accepting property as bribes? Nobody will know. Get it?
Vacant properties are the direct result of the dysfunctional systems.
By Ricky from Lisbon on 15 Jan 2022, 05:32
You think that number is high...It's Chump change compared to the U.S. However the name of the game is the same...Sit on the properties, write it off on the Taxes until the highest bidder makes you an offer...It's the same all over the World...There is no interest in housing the majority of populations...The interest is to house those that are willing to pay the overvalued inflation on these properties, period...How's that Golden Visa Scheme working out for Ya?
By Sakamoto Saurez from Lisbon on 15 Jan 2022, 13:36
Who’s to say these are not vacation homes owned by citizens who live elsewhere. Are they ruins or abandoned?People have a right not to inhabit a property that they own. Or they could be Airbnb properties not inhabited because of covid. This article is unclear why they’re not inhabited.
By Kiki Bridges from Algarve on 15 Jan 2022, 21:36
Home are for living in.
Everybody deserves to have a home.
Government needs to stop crazy tax breaks for short term rentals especially the neighbourhood and city wrecking Airbnb which has gutted residential areas of their communites and destroyed the long term rental market.
It is an outrage that short term landlords are only required to pay tax on 25% of their rental income.
If properties are vacant for more than a year the owners should be forced into selling so freeing up properties for people to actually live in.
Enough of empty unlived unloved properties up and down the country.
Time for a radical rethink for the benefit of society.
By James from Algarve on 16 Jan 2022, 11:53
Just take a walk around Lisbon and you will see many abandoned properties. High rent and many abandoned properties indicate something is structurally in the way of renovation for a profit.
By Brian from Lisbon on 16 Jan 2022, 16:20
Golden visa properties probably
By Matthew from Other on 17 Jan 2022, 11:33
I have a ruin house in a Portuguese village that I will be living in during my retirement. The big attraction of Portugal for me is just being left alone to do my own thing. I am bringing money and development so I should be left alone. What worries me about Portugal is that foreigners may buy the place up just like they have done in England with the portuguese paying rent to foreigners which the goes out of the country. Portugal needs the immigration of useful immigrants who will build the country up not parasites.
By David-Paul Newton-Scott from UK on 17 Jan 2022, 13:50
Perhaps these are all airbnb or something similar? And with the advent of COVID, they now sit there empty?
By Ron Peters from Other on 17 Jan 2022, 18:35