“The idea behind this project is to try to go to the market to rent out homes and then sublet them,” the mayor, Jorge Ricardo, told Lusa today.

The mayor states that, according to the 2021 Census, Amarante, in the Porto district, had around 3,000 vacant houses at the time, the majority belonging to emigrants.

If it is possible with this programme to attract around 5% of homes to the rental market, it would mean that 150 new homes would be available, says Jorge Ricardo.

As an attraction for landlords, in addition to the guarantee of rent payment, the municipality offers exemption from IRS, which corresponds to 28%, and exemption from payment of Municipal Property Tax (IMI), in addition to property conservation.

“There is a partner here, which is the municipality of Amarante, which offers a degree of trust to landlords, which can be important”, he noted.

A campaign to publicise the programme, called “HabitAmarante”, was launched today, with informative leaflets being sent via post to homeowners’ homes, explaining the conditions for applications.

“If you have a house to rent, the municipality of Amarante will rent your house”, reads the leaflet sent to residents, indicated Jorge Ricardo.

According to the regulation, there are maximum amounts that the municipality can pay landlords for each type of housing, starting, as a reference, from 420 euros for a 3-bedroom apartment.

According to the mayor, the council proposes to sublet the houses of participating landlords, setting affordable prices for residents, based on their income and households. In some cases, he admitted, the municipality will bear the difference between the amount paid to landlords and the affordable rent provided to tenants.

“This will be another tool that will allow us to help families have decent social housing, which is a current difficulty in the municipality”, he concluded.