“We’re not going to move.” The guarantee was reaffirmed by the Minister of Infrastructure during the debate on the draft State Budget and refers to the decision of the socialist Government to freeze old rents until 1990. In response to the socialist deputy María Begonha, Miguel Pinto Luz highlighted that The Government will do something different in terms of compensating owners for this freeze. These owners, he emphasizes, did not receive anything from the PS.
The doubt arose because the budget proposal report provided for the “adoption of the necessary measures to conclude the transition processes of housing lease contracts prior to 1990, in order to restore justice”, assuming the intention of making proposals for “adaptation” to the relative legislation. to leasing, that is, to “correct the distortions created in recent years.”
The Government clarifies that it will not unfreeze old rents
The Government quickly backtracked on the scope of this statement. A setback that has been reaffirmed by Pinto Luz this Thursday without, however, giving details on how the compensation mechanisms for owners already provided for in the Mais Housing Program approved by the previous socialist executive will be modified.
These are about 125,000 lease contracts prior to 1990 and whose rents are frozen. In response to Chega deputy Marta Silva, Pinto Luz explained that the IRHU has only received applications from 4,000 owners so far, a figure that he describes as “laughable” given the number of contracts. For the Minister of Infrastructure, the problem lies in the requirement to request evidence from the Tax Authority. Only 21 thousand owners requested this document. “In AT the process is blocked,” says the minister.
Pinto Luz adds that the Government is working so that by the end of the year the Institute of Rehabilitation and Urban Housing (IHRU) processes these applications and pays. And he intends to change the validation process to dispense with the request for proof, which he considers redundant, since the value of the rent and the property already allows us to understand whether we are dealing with contracts prior to 1990. When asked about the time To completely unfreeze the rentals, Pinto Luz says that we will have to wait until these contracts are terminated. Most tenants are covered due to age, degree of disability, and low income of the entire household.
The compensation is equivalent to the difference between the rental value and 1/15 of the equity value of the home. Landlords are entitled to this help if the rent collected is less than 1/15 of the taxable asset value of the property, divided by 12 months.
Pinto Luz also stated that the Government intends to expand the criteria for coverage of competitors to the Primer Derecho housing support program.
Almost 3,000 owners requested compensation for old rentals
This program, which was partially repealed by the current Executive, included a mechanism to stop the transition of these housing lease contracts to the New Regime of Urban Leases (NRAU).
Housing was one of the central topics in the initial intervention of the Minister of Infrastructure and in the questions from the Socialist Party, which criticized the measure of exemption from the municipal tax on real estate transactions for the purchase of houses by young people who, according to Maria Begonha He claims, it has benefited young people who earn 2,000 euros or more and not those who earn less.
Pinto Luz says he does not have information about the beneficiaries of the IMT exemption, but mentions figures that contradict this idea. On average, the Most tax-free operations amount to 180 thousand eurosthat will not correspond to the highest segment of recipients. Saying that anyone who earns up to 1,300 euros is middle class is reductionist, he said.
The Minister of Infrastructure also reaffirmed his disagreement with the exemption from tolls on the old Scut, imposed by a socialist proposal supported by Chega this summer, and which will come into force in 2025.
Source: Observadora
