LISBON CÂMARA, in conjunction with national housing associations, is to build 4,200 affordable first-time-buyer houses for those on a lower income. Work began on the 42 building plots last week, in various sites dotted around the city, following an agreement between Lisbon Câmara and the National Federation of Economical Housing Co-operatives (Nacional de Cooperativas de Habitação Económica).
Câmara President, Carmona Rodrigues, said it was “a good way of creating new housing at affordable prices for those on a low income”. Hinting at the fact that Lisbon is full of luxury properties, built and standing empty, he said: “Lisbon’s housing market has become unrepresentative of its population in the last 20 years. We’ve seen a growth in properties at both ends of an extreme scale – the luxury end beyond the reach of many and the social housing end for those of more limited means.” He asked: “Where is affordable, decent, new housing for the vast majority of those people on a lower income? We want to create a Lisbon that represents all of its social and economic classes.”
So far, 1,857 housing units have already been built and a further 695 units are under construction, of which 664 will be handed over to the Council and the rest to the co-operatives.
