Lisbon wants to convert tourist flats into affordable housing.
For years, and until 2011, the buildings in Lisbon they lived in a kind of urban abandonment, even though it was the oldest and most historic part of the city. Buildings of great beauty remained abandoned due to the strict measures and rent controls imposed by the government.
But in 2011 Portugal asked for a rescue and it began to be seen as an opportunity for those foreign investors. In 2014 Lisbon was already a fashionable city that was beginning to revalue those traditional buildings in central neighborhoods such as Alfama and turning them into short-term rentals or luxury hotels that brought more money to the city.
That's where what they called Terramotorism , or what is the same, downtown neighborhoods full of tourist flats with exorbitant rents, citizens who have to go farther and farther because they cannot afford to pay them, and foreign investments. But then unexpectedly, the pandemic arrived and tourists stopped traveling and all those short-term rental owners were left with virtually no income…
Lisbon, now what?
Already this month of July the Lisbon City Council intended to convert Airbnb homes into affordable housing , although they resisted. But this month the government of Fernando Medina proposes even more forceful measures to give the city and its citizens a new opportunity. "The virus did not ask us for permission to enter, but we have the ability to use this time to think and see how we can move in a direction to correct things and put them on the right track ", the mayor told The Guardian.
The 'Secure Rental' project could also be an alternative for all these owners who see the future of the city with uncertainty.
And what does this plan consist of? The Lisbon City Council wants to convert around 20,000 tourist apartments next year in affordable, long-term rental housing especially for middle-class families and youth.
Owners have the possibility of receiving up to 1,000 euros per month renting their properties to the city for a minimum of five years. But it is the city that finds the tenants and rents the houses with a ceiling of one third of the net income of the household. On the one hand, it is a safe option for owners because they ensure a permanent rental, but at a lower price than they would have before the pandemic.
This 2021, as confirmed in a statement, they have already received 107 applications of interested owners. Applications were submitted in all areas of the city, with a special focus on the historic center of Lisbon. And, for now, they will remain open throughout 2021.