The Minister of Infrastructure considered this Wednesday that the “soil law” is not the “silver bullet that will solve all problems”, but argued that it “will lower housing prices”.
“There is not enough land and we have to increase the ‘stock’ of available land, lowering prices, and we have to simultaneously increase the ‘stock’ of available housing”, said minister Miguel Pinto Luz, who also oversees the housing portfolio.
Pinto Luz stated that “it would be absolutely unspeakable” if he said that he was “absolutely certain that this was the silver bullet to solve all the problems” in the sector and said he waited for the PS’s proposals, thus ensuring socialist support to this law, which is scheduled to come into force at the end of January, but which will be subject to parliamentary consideration next Friday.
Pedro Luz admits discussing the topic
In a hearing in Parliament, at the request of the Left Bloc, regarding changes to the Legal Regime of Territorial Management Instruments, Pinto Luz also guaranteed that the government is available to hold a serious discussion about this law, which aims to facilitate the transition of land classified as rural areas to urban land and thus facilitate the construction of housing.
“I maintain here today, before all of you, at the beginning of this hearing, that we are completely open to having a serious discussion, so that we can adapt, improve, we have no prejudice in relation to this, but we also do not have any arrogance [de] that we have the absolute truth”, he assured.
The government official highlighted that he is awaiting proposals from the socialist party, which has put at risk the creation of a reference price for properties (median value) that the socialists consider could make sales prices rise, contradicting the government’s objective.
“Let’s wait and see what the PS’s response is. I don’t want to, I’m not going to carry out a negotiation process here with the PS in the middle of the Commission”, he said, highlighting that the studies on which the Government was based say that housing prices will fall, “on average, 20%”.
“What has happened so far has not worked”
Pinto Luz highlighted that the facts demonstrate that “what has happened so far has not worked” and that the Government “wants much more” controlled cost housing (HCC) built with private individuals” and that currently “it is absolutely marginal”.
The government official highlighted that, in terms of public investment, the municipalities are developing 59 thousand homes and the Institute of Housing and Urban Rehabilitation (IHRU) another 6,800.
“Now we have to invite the private sector. (…) If it’s just public housing, it won’t work, because there is no private sector that wants to put its land with 70% for public housing, to hand it over on a plate”, he stated.
Pinto Luz considered that the PS “did not anticipate that municipalities would not find land for development [de habitação] e [que] Many of these lands are private.”
“And therefore, today they have practically no private sector developing HCC. They don’t have it, because there is no economic dynamics. HCC is at the minimum margin that a private sector can reach. Let’s not forget, and I haven’t seen this discussion here, that the State can always appear to co-finance these projects. And, therefore, this will create dynamics”, he pondered.
In response to Chega, which has had concerns about the possibility of corruption that the new law will open, Pinto Luz retorted that the “Government, from the first minute, placed the fight against corruption as one of its priorities” and rejected suspicions about the mayors, who They are no longer “those mayors from the 1980s”, but “they are empowered in a different way, there are different inspection mechanisms, justice works differently and this is already clear in the public space”.
The Government changed the Legal Regime of Territorial Management Instruments to allow construction on land that was previously prohibited, including the National Agricultural Reserve (RAN) and the National Ecological Reserve (REN), justifying that it intends to increase the supply of land to build housing, ensuring the preservation of protected areas.
The diploma was published in the Official Gazette of the Union on December 30, to come into force at the end of January.
The announcement of the new soil law generated protests, with the PS proposing changes to the decree, while deputies from the Economy, Public Works and Housing committee unanimously approved a request from the Left Bloc (BE) for a hearing, as a matter of urgency. , the ministers of Infrastructure and Housing and Territorial Cohesion.
