World

Portugal Ends Golden Visas, Curtails Airbnb Rentals To Address Housing Crisis

Portugal announced on Thursday a hefty package of measures to tackle a housing crisis, including the end of its controversial “Golden Visa” scheme and a ban on new licenses for Airbnbs and other short-term holiday rentals.

Rents and house prices have skyrocketed in Portugal, which is among the poorest countries in Western Europe. Last year, more than 50% of workers earned less than 1,000 euros per month while in Lisbon alone, rents jumped 37% in 2022.

Low salaries, a red-hot property market, policies encouraging wealthy foreigners to invest and a tourism-dependent economy have for years made it hard for locals to rent or buy, housing groups have said. Portugal’s 8.3% inflation rate has exacerbated the problem.

Prime Minister Antonio Costa said the crisis was now affecting all families, not just the most vulnerable.

It is not clear when the measures, worth at least 900 million euros ($962.19 million), will come into effect. Costa said some would be approved next month and others will be voted on by lawmakers.
A mechanism would be introduced to regulate rent increases, he added, and the government will offer tax incentives to landlords who convert tourism properties into houses for locals to rent.

New licenses for tourism accommodations, such as Airbnbs, will be prohibited – except in less populated rural areas. To address the housing shortage, Costa said the state would rent vacant houses direct from landlords for a period of five years and put them on the rental market.

Portugal will end its golden visa programme, which offers EU passports to non-EU nationals in return for investments including in real estate and has been criticised for boosting house prices and rents.

Click here to Read More.

Comments

Source
Reuters
Back to top button