Tag Archive for: housing

Habitation

Today, Lisbon tops Europe’s housing unaffordability ranking

Unaffordable house prices and rents are a continent-wide concern. Over the past decade, house prices in the EU rose by 50% on average, and rents by 18%. Housing policy has favoured those who invest in homes at the cost of those who live in them. Across Europe, property has become a driving force of inequality.

During that same period, Lisbon has undergone a dramatic transformation, from one of the most affordable capitals in Europe to one of the most unaffordable. House prices rose by more than 200% in its central historical district. This trend is extending to the national level. In 2015, Portugal ranked 22nd out of 27 EU countries for housing unaffordability. Today it ranks first!

To understand how Lisbon reached this point, we have to go back to the 2008 global financial crisis, after which the country embraced a strategy of aggressive liberalization, in order to entice foreign real estate investment.

Rental laws were relaxed, making evictions easier and tenancy agreements shorter. Generous tax-incentives were introduced for non-resident buyers, including the controversial ‘golden visa’ and ‘non-habitual resident’ programmes.  At the same time, both the hotel industry and the short-term rental sector were promoted.

In the historic centre of Lisbon, Airbnb rentals have reached dramatic levels: half of all homes hold a short-term licence, and in the most tourist-saturated neighbourhoods, that figure even climbs to 70%.

When measured against the city population, this number represents a density 6 times higher than in Barcelona and 3 times higher than in London. Meanwhile, the number of hotels has tripled – from around 100 to 300 – and there already exist approved plans for 50 more.    

These changes happened in a global context of low interest rates in which affluent people increasingly turned to housing as a place to park their savings. Storing of wealth in housing drives up prices; the medium of transactions made by foreign buyers in Lisbon is 80% higher than the price paid by domestic buyers, whereas the country stands out for its overvaluation of house prices by 35%.

The result is a city that welcomes foreign wealth but excludes many of its own citizens, prioritizing the desires of the global consumers over the needs of the local community. Beyond an increasing number of tourists, central Lisbon is now primarily occupied by a transnational class of mobile young professionals and digital nomads from other countries, whereas local middle-class people are being pushed out to the suburbs or forced to adapt by renting rooms instead of apartments.

At the same time, a growing share of the income – half of the Portuguese taxpayers earn less than 1000 euros a month – is being consumed by housing costs, deepening social inequality. Citizens in Lisbon spend the highest percentage of their salary on housing in the EU.

Contrary to the neoliberal myth that the market alone can meet the needs of the population, Lisbon offers another example of market failure, dividing society and fuelling the popularity of far-right parties like Chega.
‘ We’re running the risk of having the working and middle classes conclude that their democracies are incapable of solving their biggest problem,’ the mayor of Barcelona recently declared.

Happy reading                      Boas leituras                (Pic PtRes/Lusa)

/by

Seismic

‘Unfortunately nobody can predict the next earthquake’

On Monday morning August 26 at 05.11 the country was startled by an earthquake 58 kilometres west of Sines, in the district of Setúbal with a magnitude of 5.3 on the Richer scale. No personal or material damage was reported, although there were many phone calls from concerned people seeking information.

According to the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) in Oeiras, the earthquake had its epicentre at sea but no tsunami warning was given since the magnitude was less than 6.1.
The tremor was felt in several parts of the country but with greater intensity in Setubal and Lisbon.

‘Although this earthquake can be considered as moderate, one shouldn’t worry too much as the southern part of the country has always been seismic active’, says Joao Duarte, seismologist at IPMA, the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere. But it definitely serves as a wake-up call to invest in risk reduction.

It has to do with two tectonic plates pushing against each other. The African plate moves northwest and lifts the Eurasian plate, which is moving to the east –  along the so-called Azores-Gibraltar fracture.
The earthquake has been classified as the biggest felt in Lisbon since 1969, which had a force of 7.9 and its epicentre 250 km away from Lisbon. That time 13 people died.  

The by far biggest terramoto was in 1755, with a magnitude of 9 on the Richter scale. It developed apocalyptic proportions and completely whipped out the lower part of Lisbon. In memory of that country’s main natural disaster, an Earthquake Museum (Museu do Terramoto) was recently opened in Belem.  

The mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, declared that ‘the City Council  has been ‘seismically’ assessing more than 1500 municipal buildings over the last two years and that only 10% of the buildings need anti-seismic reinforcement.’

However, almost 70% of Lisbon’s buildings were built before the seismic protection law in 1983, making the capital the second city with the highest seismic risk after Istanbul.

The weekly newspaper Expresso published, that 195,000 Lisbon residents live in homes that were not built to earthquake standards.
Mafra, says the newspaper, is the only municipality on the mainland that has a special ‘escape plan’ for the population in case of such a natural disaster.’

One can only hope not to be surprised by bigger earthquakes than the one that woke many of us up on that early morning of August 26.

Enjoy your week          Approveite a semana      (pic Público/Sapo)


/by

Homeless

‘The street is not a choice – we want houses’

Once upon a pre-Covid time, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa promised that he would personally see to it, that all 400 homeless in the capital got off the street in 2023. Since the new virus hijacked the country’s economy very little has changed. In fact, there are a lot more new faces on the street.

On the 15th of June tens of homeless people gathered before Parliament to express their displeasure. Sara – one of the protesters – has no job and feels discriminated against by the government. ‘I am not a number, I am a person. We have a right to housing!’

Many homeless people, don’t believe in shelters as they lump too many problematic individuals together under one roof.
The best solution would be to discuss with the homeless the needs of each and every one.
‘

‘The government give us a minimum income of 189 euros per month but that is not nearly enough to rent a room.
When the landlords know we are homeless, they ask a six months deposit for a room.
There are a lot of abandoned houses in Lisbon. Why can’t they be used to rehouse the homeless?’

Manuel Grilo – Lisbon’s councillor for Education and Social Rights – declared that since the beginning of the pandemic 500 homeless people have been attended in four emergency centres created by the municipality.

47 of them have been referred to the Housing First program, a project financed by the City Council in which people are integrated into individual housing and supported by professionals. The municipality hopes that by the end of the year a total of 380 people will be accommodated through this program.

According to Guerreiro – another homeless protester in front of Parliament – the councillor of the Left Bloc lives out of reality. ‘Until today, there is not one municipal house attributed to a homeless person!’

In order to judge the evolution of homeless cases ‘on the ground’, the President recently paid a visit to the Avenida AlmiranteReis, Cais do Sodré and Santa Apolonia in Lisbon.

‘It is sad to see that the new crisis means an increase in homelessness, especially among young people. Now saying that the 2023 goal will be met, would be a lie with over 100.000 unemployed in Portugal due to Covid’.

Stay healthy                 Fique saudável             (pic PtRes/Público/JEcon)






/by

Renting

Room with a view in the center – Martim Moniz – 18 m²,  1300 euro/month

‘No, it is not okay’, mutters João. ‘We got a letter from the landlord the other day. Our contract expires in November. He wants to increase the rent from 300 to 800 euro a month and reduce the contract period to one year. I’ am sure he’ll increase the rent again next year.
But it’s too much, I can’t afford that.’

Joao is a stocky, compact fellow. Looks like 60. Blue eyes, strong hands. Works as a gardener nearby. Says he can’t stay at home during the day with a depressive wife complaining all day.

 ‘Where do you live?’, I ask
‘Principe Real, for 37 years. My daughter and grandson are born in that same place. It’s a nice neighbourhood.
‘I bet’, I say. ‘And very popular among tourist these days. I’ve heard Jamie Oliver has opened an Italian restaurant there somewhere’. My wife doesn’t like Italian’, he grumbles.

Almost half a million tenants are awaiting the same fate as João. Most of the rental agreements signed last year in Lisbon were for one year only. The good news is that the socialist government wants to intervene in the overheated housing market and overrule the Rental Law (Lei das Rendas) of 2012, when the former conservative government liberalized the real estate sector. 

Within five years rents in Lisbon increased by 36%.
Prime minister António Costa now wants that landlords – who let their dwellings for 20% below the market value for a period of at least 3 years – are given tax benefits.
The longer the contract the greater the benefit!

‘Sounds nice’, moans João ‘but 80% of 800 is still too much.’
‘Ho, Ho. I am not finished yet’, I continue.

Housing is a priority for this government, that wants to build more affordable accommodation and has set aside 1,7 billion euros to give 26.000 needy families – half of them from Lisbon – a decent home within six years. It also intends to give municipalities the right to claim vacant properties for social habitation.

Well, it’s a pity I’ am not one of those families and six years is a long time, especially at my age’, João replies.
‘No, I’ am afraid we’ll have to leave the city center. It’s a shame, selling the capital to the well-off and the numerous tourists. Thanks anyway but I really have to go back to work.’

‘But João, wait! How old are you?’
‘72. Why?
‘Well, in that case, I wouldn’t worry too much. Anyone over 65 and living for more than 25 years in the same house is – according to this new law- entitled to an automatic renewal of his current contract. And there is a very good chance that Parliament will approve this very soon. You better hold on.’

Bom fim da semana                                                          Enjoy the weekend

 

 

 

/by