Matosinhos City Council is set to invest €40 million in the construction of 500 new affordable rental homes, using bank financing to allow the projects to move forward without waiting for central government approval, Mayor Luísa Salgueiro told Portuguese news agency Lusa.
Luísa Salgueiro said the municipality had decided to advance with the investment given its financial capacity and track record in delivering housing projects.
More than 200 of the 500 homes fall under the responsibility of Portugal’s Institute for Housing and Urban Rehabilitation (IHRU). The municipality expects to recover more than €20 million from the €40 million loan, corresponding to the government’s 60% share, which will subsequently be redirected to other investments.
All 500 homes will be built on municipal land and made available through the affordable rental market, targeting middle-income households. One of the developments will be exclusively reserved for people aged up to 35.
Construction and delivery are expected to take between three and four years.
Part of the same financing package will also be allocated to the refurbishment of seven existing housing complexes, comprising 1,173 homes that were not included in Portugal’s Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).
The loan proposal is due to be discussed by the municipal executive at its next public meeting.
Matosinhos currently has more than 4,800 public homes, benefiting around 10,500 people. Public housing accounts for 6% of the municipality’s housing stock, twice Portugal’s national average of 3%.
The municipality previously completed all the housing projects it had committed to under the PRR, delivering more than 500 homes through new construction and refurbishment. Luísa Salgueiro said, however, that further intervention was needed to address housing demand in Matosinhos.
