The Government and the European Investment Bank approved a credit line of 1.5 billion euros for the construction and rehabilitation of approximately 50,000 social housing units across the country. The first tranche of the loan, worth 500 million euros, was signed this Monday.
The objective is to address the housing needs of the most vulnerable families that fell outside the scope of the Recovery and Resilience Plan. The housing to be financed falls under the 1st Right – Programme for Support for Access to Housing, managed by the Institute for Housing and Urban Rehabilitation, and is intended for people living in indecent housing conditions who do not have the financial capacity to bear the cost of accessing housing.
The new credit line provides more advantageous conditions than those available on the market, including lower interest rates and longer grace periods, allowing municipalities to implement the social responses identified in their respective Local Housing Strategies. The Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, stated that the Government will not leave unanswered the housing needs that could not be fully financed by the European programme.
This line adds to the 2.8 billion euros already approved in the State Budget, to be executed until 2030, under the exception regime of the 1st Right programme. The Minister of State and Finance, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, highlighted that another significant step has been taken in strengthening the construction and renovation of public housing in Portugal.
