Housing. António Costa announces income support and subsidized interest

Prime Minister António Costa announced this Thursday at a press conference two temporary measures that come into force in June with retroactive effect in January and that aim to help families in the context of supporting housing expenses.

The first is related to the implementation of a subsidized interest rate for credits contracted until this Wednesday, with all families with incomes up to the sixth step of the IRS and who have an effort rate with housing expenses greater than 35%. This measure will last until January 2024 but may continue depending on the increase in interest rates.

The other measure is related to income support, a measure that will be in force for five years and will have a maximum amount of 200 euros per month and will be paid retroactively in January of this year.

The head of government justified the implementation of these measures on a temporary basis with the fact that, in the opinion of the government, there is no reason “to postpone measures of an extraordinary and temporary nature to accompany a critical moment.

The measures approved this Thursday by the Council of Ministers were based on a package of measures called “More Housing” and which generated a remarkable public debate. The exemption of capital gains, the end of golden visas, the limitation of rent values ​​were some of the measures announced on February 16 by the Government, in a presentation to the press that was attended by the Minister of Finance, Fernando Medina, and the Minister of Housing, Marina Gonçalves.

António Costa thus presented a set of measures that were under public consultation at the time and aimed to respond to the housing problem in Portugal, with various dimensions covered. “We want to respond comprehensively in several dimensions to respond to the housing problem for different families: increase the supply of rental housing, simplify licensing processes; secure more houses on the rental market and we will adopt measures to combat real estate speculation and, finally, measures to support families both in housing loans and in the lease regime”, said António Costa in that presentation.

Updated at 2pm