In a press conference after a meeting of the Council of Ministers in Lisbon, the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, said that the Government decided today on measures that "bring justice and moderation" and that "repeal mistakes".

"We repealed a series of regulatory prohibitions and changed others, which had as consequences making precarious or affecting past licenses of people who had invested in the past decade, expecting to have returns in the long term and that this return, this confidence in the investment, had been betrayed by the action of the State", he stressed.

One of the measures, according to the minister, is the repeal of a fixation of the obsolescence coefficient, "which in practice had as a consequence the increase of IMI of real estate in local accommodation".

The executive counts on the help of the municipalities, which will be able to make the rules and inspect their application taking into account the reality in their territory, to allow "finding differentiated situations, but more harmonious".

The municipalities may have a "regulatory, but also mediating role in conflicts" between owners within real estate in horizontal property and establish the conditions for issuing and registering new licenses.

Leitão Amaro stressed that these repeals, namely "of the situation of licenses", do not mean a liberalization without limits or a deregulation of the market where local accommodation operates.

The minister considered that the previous Government, socialist, "chose AL as an unfair target to try to excuse its inability that led to the worsening of the housing crisis", while the current executive replaced this "punitive vision with a balanced vision", which recognizes that there are areas of greater urban pressure and greater tourist pressure.

"All these measures met not only the electoral commitments, but also the listening that the Government made to the various entities in the sector", he said.

The minister highlighted that the measures announced today after the Council of Ministers will have "differentiated entries into force", because some of the diplomas need to go to parliament and others that involve the municipalities require a mandatory consultation with the National Association of Municipalities.

Lusa contacted the Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing, but it was not yet possible to obtain a clarification about the path of the diplomas.

[News updated at 20:53]

Read Also: Rent support again covers tenants with changed contract (Portuguese version)