The president of the National Association of Property Owners (ANP), António Frias Marques, considered that the new Housing Strategy, presented by the Government on Friday, was a "disappointment".

"This was not what we were expecting at all. We were expecting the previous government's Mais Habitação package to be revoked. That did not happen. Basically, the previous government's Mais Habitação package remains in place", he pointed out, in statements to Notícias ao Minuto.

Confronting the criticism made by the opposition, which spoke of "flexibility in contracts", Fria Marques added that "regarding very important issues, it remains the same".

"Without disrespecting the government, the idea is that those who did this really do not understand anything about this", he decided, arguing that civil society needs to have its say.

The criticism

The head of the association made a series of criticisms of the measures, starting, namely, with the reduction of VAT to the minimum rate of 6%, something that already exists - and has been applied. "This has existed for 30 years. It is an ancient thing. Thousands of Portuguese people have already done work and benefited from a reduction in labor and materials of 6%. I do not understand how something like this is presented as if it were a great novelty. Every day our associates apply this", he assured.

Speaking about the new strategy, which can be consulted in full here, the president of ANP classified the chapter on 'Restoring confidence' in the rental market as "very pompous". "The revocation of forced rental in respect of property rights does not work", he decided, recalling the words of the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, in relation to the package for the sector presented by António Costa's government, and in which he spoke of a 'poster law'. "The previous government did not have the administrative machinery to apply this, and it was not applied. And neither does this one", he compared, referring to the survey of vacant houses in the country.

In addition to the Executive's 'ostentatious' lines, the leader of ANP also said that there are omissions, namely, in relation to contracts prior to 1990, which are, according to his accounts, around 200 thousand contracts. "They continue with 'cacaracá' rents, less than 100 euros", he pointed out, stressing that what ANM proposes in this case is that the State give a subsidy to these tenants "to then pay a rent close to the market rate". António Frias Marques argued that one of the consequences of this "omission" and lack of action in relation to old rents is that "there is no money to carry out conservation or rehabilitation work on these buildings".

From the perspective of the owners, another "very serious" issue concerns the additional municipal property tax, IMI. "We all pay IMI, but then if the person has the misfortune of owning a property with a tax value of more than 600 thousand euros - or a set of floors -, in addition to paying IMI, the person will pay an additional 2% so as not to have the mania that they are rich. This is violence", he denounced, reinforcing that the Executive is omitting what became known as the 'Mortágua Tax'.

António Frias Marques pointed out that in addition to not protecting the owners, they also withdraw their trust in relation to political power. "Trust in these entities is already null. It has disappeared", he argued, once again stressing that there must be participation from civil society and people "knowledgeable about the matter" in this decision-making.

Vacant houses

Another measure is also presented "pompously" in the same chapter, which gives an account of the revocation of the Mais Habitação measure in guaranteeing the replacement of the State as a tenant. "I think they are referring to a previous program that they called 'Rent to Sublet'", a program in which the local authorities "rented a vacant house to the landlord for a thousand euros, for example, and then found someone they sympathized with who paid rent of 100 or 200 euros". Considering that this program "never had the legs to walk", the president once again considered that "there was no administrative machinery" for this issue to move forward, that is, employees. "Basically, this is killing the dead", he decided.

As for the vacant houses, Fria Marques also criticized the local authorities, who "increase IMI, but do not bother to go and see the conditions in which the houses are", many of them that "only have a facade" and where "not even rats go inside".

ANP available to "roll up its sleeves"

Asked if ANP would be available for a dialogue with the Government, the official was totally in favor: "One of the things that is proposed in the midst of all this reasoning is the constitution of the famous working group [measure 15]. We are here to roll up our sleeves and work".

But despite the availability, the president of the association states that, as a rule, civil society "has no say" in these groups. "It is a representative of the ministry here, a representative of the ministry there, a representative of the chamber beyond. It is the experience we have. The general population - and those who have something of their own in particular - have no say in these working groups", he criticized, adding that not only the owners should be part of this consultation circle, but also the tenants. "We all have a say. We need to hear from those who pay. We are in the 50th year of April 25, but I don't see anything", he said.

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