Architects' Order President States 150,000 Homes Needed to Address Portugal's Housing Crisis
The president of the Portuguese Order of Architects (OA), Avelino Oliveira, has issued a stark analysis of the country's housing policy, stating that the government's current plans are insufficient to resolve the national housing crisis. The core policy objective under scrutiny is the provision of housing through the national Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR). While the government has announced a target of delivering 59,000 homes by 2030, Oliveira contends that this figure is misleading. He argues that the implementation strategy for the PRR is flawed because the majority of these units are not new builds. According to his analysis, approximately 75% of the planned homes involve the rehabilitation of existing social housing, with only about 14,000 units being genuinely new construction. This approach, he claims, will not adequately address the fundamental supply shortage. The affected population groups include a wide range of families and individuals struggling to find affordable housing in a market characterized by high prices, particularly in urban centers like Lisbon. The budget allocation for the PRR's housing component is substantial, but Oliveira's critique suggests the funds may not be directed effectively to create new housing stock. Stakeholder consultation with professional bodies like the Order of Architects has highlighted these concerns, with calls for a more ambitious strategy. The expected economic and social impact of the current policy may be limited if it fails to increase the overall housing supply. Oliveira pointed to the fact that public housing accounts for only 2% of the total in Portugal, far below the European average of 8%, as a key issue. There is a growing political debate around the need for a revised housing strategy, with opposition parties and industry experts calling for more aggressive measures. Future policy developments may need to include a greater focus on public-private partnerships and incentives for new construction to meet the scale of the crisis. Understand policy impacts on your Portugal property plans at realestate-lisbon.com.
