The IL presented seven bills in plenary, including one aimed at local accommodation, which proposed a reversal of most of the measures for this activity included in the More Housing program, namely "the reassessment of local accommodation records issued, the suspension of new local accommodation records and the tax increases, reflected in the IMI [Municipal Property Tax] and in the creation of the new Extraordinary Contribution on Local Accommodation apartments".

The IL also intended to see "the legal security of current local accommodation owners restored, proposing the reinstatement of the rules for the cancellation of local accommodation exploration by condominiums and the safeguards in transferability".

In the justification for the proposal, the IL considered that the measures in force are "a disproportionate and unnecessary intervention", which resulted in a "persecutory attitude" towards private property.

The bill on local accommodation was rejected, with votes against from the PS, BE, L and abstentions from the PSD, PCP, CDS-PP and PAN. The CH voted in favor.

During the plenary debate, the PSD had hinted at its vote, through deputy Gonçalo Lage, stressing that the housing crisis requires an "articulated response" and not "scraps" scattered across seven autonomous projects.

Calling for the union of "efforts for a common path", the PSD focused the debate on the draft resolution it presented and which corresponds to the Government Program (PSD-CDS/PP), presented in the Assembly of the Republic on April 10, which includes the revocation of measures from the More Housing program, including the "penalizing measures" of local accommodation.

The Government Program indicates that the extraordinary contribution on this activity and the expiration of licenses prior to the More Housing program will be revoked "immediately".

The IL's reaction, reminding the PSD that, when in opposition, it voted in favor of similar measures, had no effect on the social-democratic vote, whose abstention prevented the bills from going down to the specialty discussion.

The CH also presented a bill that intended to repeal "various provisions" of the More Housing program.

Deputy Rui Afonso (CH) stressed that "suffocating local accommodation will not solve the housing crisis".

The CH project was rejected, with votes against from the PS, BE, L and PCP and abstentions from the PSD, CDS-PP and PAN. The IL voted in favor.

More Housing, translated into Law no. 56/2023, in force since October 7 of last year, was approved with the vote against all parties represented in the Assembly of the Republic, with the exception of the PS (in favor) and the sole deputies of PAN and Livre, who abstained.

At the time, the left asked for more measures, namely the freezing of rent increases and the suspension of evictions, while the right made accusations of violation of property rights and destruction of sectors of the economy, such as local accommodation.

In today's debate, the PS defended itself by considering that the Government is "completely handing housing back to market laws".

"The right has no other policy, no other idea, no other agenda than to tear up and repeal what has been done", criticized deputy Maria Begonha.

Read Also: PSD criticizes IL's "scraps" on housing and waits for the Government (Portuguese version)