Newsletter Momentum - Mais Habitação Package
SÉRVULO PUBLICATIONS 23 Oct 2023
Involved in extreme controversy, Law No. 56/2023, of October 6, commonly known as the Mais Habitação Package, was finally published, with the intention to respond to an urgent lack of more affordable residences, especially in large urban centers, namely Lisbon and Oporto.
The rental market does not have sufficient homes, demand far outstrips supply, prices have tripled, and as a result became inaccessible, especially to the Portuguese middle class and displaced students. Since neither the State, and on a more local level, nor the Municipalities, are able to provide an immediate response to this deficit in the residential market, the Government has decided to carry out a series of measures, translated in profound changes in several legal regimes that over the last few years have proved to be essential for attracting investment in the real estate market, and which will remarkably be affected by the measures of this package.
In this newsletter, we aim to sum up the main changes that result from this Mais Habitação Package, and if we are right about the uncertainty of its practical feasibility and its effectiveness in the quick solution of a very serious problem of our cities, the access to homes, we are equally sure about the certainty of the reduction in investment, namely, foreign investment, in the real estate market, the loss of confidence of the players in the Portuguese legal system, and the evident impact that these changes will certainly bring to the economy of the Portuguese people.
