NEW HOUSING LAW IN PORTUGAL 2020

Housing law in Portugal, what's new

September means back to work and October means legislation. A new wave of laws will be put in place that will have a real impact on citizens and businesses alike.

Among the measures that make up the law on housing, the government has highlighted Programa Nacional de Habitação e da Carta Municipal de Habitaçãoas well as the proteção no despejo e a integração do direito à habitação nas políticas de erradicação de pessoas em condição de sem-abrigo. 

The government has also amended the law to allow banks to foreclose on real estate for non-payment (under certain conditions).

Being a homeowner without having to buy seems impossible, well now it is possible in Portugal. The socialist government of António Costa has finally approved Direito Real de Habitação Duradoura (DHD). 

The purpose of the DHD is to offer the tenant the possibility of obtaining a permanent form of housing for life. For this the tenant should proceed to the payment of an initial deposit and then the payment of a monthly rent. We could compare this form of acquisition to the French viager.

New taxes on investment

As of October 1, 2019, the Municipal Property Tax (MPT) amendment that ends the confidentiality of land adjoining your property. This means that lawyers, bailiffs and notaries, will once again be able to view the matrices of their clients' adjoining parcels. 

Still on IMI, the government is studying the proposal to revise the location coefficients, the government should normally validate this revision at the end of October with an implementation in 2020.

Since the promulgation by the President of the Republic in August, the changes related to real estate investment and management companies (SIGI) were also published in the Official Journal.

Condominium trustees will be required to hold a reserve account

The new law on housing in Portugal, has regulated the activities of condominium managers and requires them to have and use aa reserve account.

In addition, condominium managers will be able to benefit from preferential conditions for access to rehabilitation and urban renewal programs, particularly with regard to thermal and acoustic comfort, energy efficiency and accessibility for people with reduced mobility.