Lisbon, Dec. 19, 2025 (Lusa) - The Lisbon City Council decided on Thursday to mandate the mayor, Carlos Moedas (PSD), to negotiate cooperation programmes with the government (PSD/CDS-PP) so that the municipality can take advantage of the state's inactive real estate assets for housing purposes.

The decision stems from a five-point proposal by PCP councillor João Ferreira, presented at the council's public meeting, of which only one point was approved. At the same time, the remaining four were rejected by the PSD/CDS-PP/IL leadership (which governs without an absolute majority) and by Chega.

The approved point, with the abstention of Chega and the votes in favour of PSD/CDS-PP/IL, PS, Livre, BE and PCP, determines that the mayor must "establish a process of dialogue with the government, with a strategic and programmatic dimension", to define cooperation programmes between the state and the municipality of Lisbon "for the use, for housing purposes, of the state's inactive real estate assets".

This point in the PCP's proposal highlights the use of seven properties located in Lisbon, including Quinta da Alfarrobeira, the Miguel Bombarda Hospital and the former Manutenção Militar Norte complex, which were included in the Affordable Rental Partnership Development Programme, created this year by the government to "expand, on a large scale, the supply of affordable rental housing".

Among the points rejected was the idea of mobilising the assets that the government intends to sell, including the former headquarters of the Presidency of the cabinet on Rua Professor Gomes Teixeira, for public initiatives to promote public housing, with the "creation of economically affordable and non-speculative housing development operations", as well as public student accommodation.

Also on the sale of public property, the PS proposed urging the government (PSD/CDS-PP) to negotiate with the Lisbon City Council the mobilisation of state assets with housing potential "to strengthen the municipal public housing stock", and the BE suggested reversing the process of selling these buildings. Still, both motions were rejected, with votes against from PSD/CDS-PP/IL and Chega.

In this regard, Carlos Moedas said he had sent a letter to the Ministers of Finance and of Infrastructure and Housing requesting the transfer of the building that formerly housed the Presidency of the Cabinet.

He also highlighted the process of purchasing a property on Avenida de Berna to house the Academia de Amadores de Música (Amateur Music Academy), arguing that the acquisition of assets must be done "rationally", not least because the municipality still has "many assets" to develop.

"We don't want to have assets that are then abandoned. We must have the financial capacity to do so," he said.

PS councillor Alexandra Leitão considered it "incomprehensible" that the PSD/CDS-PP/IL leadership, with the support of Chega, should reject proposals that "only ask for public properties to be mobilised for public purposes, namely for affordable housing", criticising the Government's decision to "speculatively sell" assets suitable for housing, when the biggest scourge of the city of Lisbon is the lack of housing.

Criticising the 40% cut in investment for housing in the municipal budget for 2026, Alexandra Leitão said that the PS would "soon" present a series of measures in this area, including a review of the Municipal Master Plan (PDM).

These are, she said, preventive measures to avoid new tourist developments and more effective mechanisms to ensure that each new development includes public housing.

In response, Social Democrat Carlos Moedas stated that the municipality had, in the 2021-2025 term, "the largest investment in housing ever", with a €560 million contract with the European Union, and said that, if he could, he would have European funding from the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) until 2040.

Bruno Mascarenhas, from Chega, argued that investment in housing should be promoted by the private sector, including the municipality, by making land with surface rights available for house construction.

SSM/ADB // ADB.

Lusa