The Porto Academic Federation of students (FAP) has called for “dialogue and moderation” to resolve the housing crisis, proposing tax measures and a temporary ban on the purchase of residential property by non-residents.
In a statement, the FAP said it has today sent a set of concrete proposals to the political parties represented in parliament, stressing that the housing crisis “is having a devastating impact on young Portuguese people”.
“The FAP has been monitoring the situation and is once again demanding urgent responses from political authorities, just as it has done in the various public consultations organised by different sovereign bodies over recent years,” emphasised federation president, Francisco Porto Fernandes, as quoted in the press release.
The organisation is calling for a “European emergency plan to substantially increase the public and private supply of housing”, in light of “the serious situation currently facing” the housing sector, highlighting the strong public outcry and various protests, which have been “particularly evident in Porto”.
For Portugal, the FAP proposes “a temporary ban on the purchase of residential property by non-residents, particularly in municipalities under the greatest pressure from the property market”.
“The measure is not unprecedented (…). Canada introduced a similar solution in 2023. In Europe, there are several countries that already apply restrictions on the purchase of residential property by non-residents, albeit with different approaches and, often, limited to specific regions, as is the case in Austria, Malta, Slovenia, Greece and Poland,” emphasised Fernandes.
To “boost the rental market”, the federation intends to exempt income from tenancy agreements for permanent housing from personal income tax, up to an annual amount equivalent to the minimum subsistence level, currently set at €12,880.
“The problem is complex, and the evidence shows that simpler proposals, such as rent caps or strict rent freezes, have ultimately reduced the available supply and harmed precisely those looking for a home. We need to find incentives that bring more homes onto the market, because as far as we know, it is estimated that there are more than 250,000 empty homes that are fit for habitation,” he emphasised, referring to data from the latest Census.
FAP also proposes an income tax deduction for interest on mortgages for owner-occupied, permanent homes, up to a maximum limit of €900, with an increase applied for the lowest income brackets, with the aim of “ensuring fairer tax treatment between those who rent and those who buy”.
The organisation advocates the creation of a national scheme for the approval of standard designs for modular construction or construction carried out in an industrial setting.
According to the academy, this proposal stipulates that, once certified, modular designs would be valid throughout the country, eliminating the need for a new municipal assessment for each construction project and allowing manufacturing to take place in parallel with the licensing process.
On the tax front, FAP proposes clarifying that the 6% IVA (VAT) rate also applies to modules and components produced in a factory setting.
source: LUSA