Miguel A. Lopes / EPA
Carlos Moedas speaks to journalists after the Glória elevator accident
Mayor of Lisbon is vice-president of an advisory council created by the European Commission that proposes limits on rents, restrictions on the registration of local accommodation in critical areas and an increase in taxation on tourist rentals.
An advisory board created by the European Commission, vice-chaired by the Mayor of Lisbon Carlos Moedasrecommends that Member States move forward with limits on rents, restrictions on the registration of local accommodation in critical areas and an increase in taxation on tourist rentals to finance programs to support the homeless population.
The proposals, according to , are part of a package of 75 recommendations presented at the end of October by the group of 15 housing experts.
The council was set up in June by the European Commission to provide input in the preparation of a new community housing packagewhich will include a European plan to promote affordable housing, the review of state aid rules applicable to housing and a new strategy for house construction.
At the heart of the diagnosis is the identification of areas of greatest housing pressure: neighborhoods, cities or rural territories where prices and incomes soar, often fueled by speculative investment linked to residential real estate or tourism. To identify them, the council recommends that national and local authorities begin to collect and analyze data systematically, using indicators such as accelerated increases in housing prices, intense migration flows and the prevalence of short-term rentals.
Once these zones are defined, the group defends the application of specific policies. Examples include the review of urban plans to introduce “inclusive zoning”, requiring that part of new projects be allocated to affordable housing, the implementation of rent control measures, the priority in the acquisition of land and buildings by the public sector and increased taxation or even limitation of new local accommodation registrations. The central idea is to “protect communities from displacement and segregation” and preserve the social fabric of cities and towns.
Vice-president of the advisory board, Carlos Moedas and his policy for Lisbon do not align with these priorities. Questioned by Público, its administration says that “in Lisbon, the CML policy focuses on increasing the supply of municipal housing at affordable prices, supporting income and recovering vacant houses, and not limiting the private market and external investment”.
Regarding rent control, the official source from the municipality maintains that the members of the advisory council agreed that this measure should not be seen as a transversal policybut rather as an example of an instrument that cities can consider “among many others”, as long as it is anchored in robust studies and data.
One of the focuses of the report is precisely the local accommodation and, in general, short-term tourist rentals. The council considers that this segment must be subject to mandatory regulation in all Member Stateswith digital platforms held responsible for illegal registrations. It also advocates that data collection should cover all platforms, including medium-term offers, in order to accurately assess the impact of this market on housing.
From a fiscal point of view, experts consider that tourist accommodation platforms “pay little or no taxes in Europe” and propose that they be subject to a “solidarity contribution” aimed at combating housing deprivation. A part of the additional revenue obtained from taxation of this sector should be channeled into support programs for the homeless population, creating a redistribution mechanism inspired by the principle that tourist activity that puts pressure on housing markets also contributes to mitigating its social effects.
Several of the recommendations now delivered are in line with criticisms made by the European Commission itself towards Portugal.
In a recent assessment of the Portuguese economy and public finances, Brussels concluded that the measures adopted in recent years have not been sufficient to face the housing crisis and admitted that the targets for building thousands of homes promised by successive governments will probably remain unfulfilled.
That is why it recommended that Lisbon adopt long-term measures to halt the rapid increase in rents, reinforcing the regulation of short-term tourist accommodation in areas of greatest pressure, introducing protection mechanisms for the most vulnerable groups and promoting the placing on the market of empty or underused houses, both in public and private parks.
