The Lisbon City Council approved this Thursday, November 27th, the proposal from the PSD/CDS-PP/IL leadership to change the Municipal Local Accommodation Regulation (RMAL), made possible with the support of Chega, so that the absolute containment ratio is reduced from 20% to 10%.
In a private meeting, the municipal executive began by voting on the two alternative proposals on changing the RMAL, one from the PSD/CDS-PP/IL leadership and the other from the PS, with the aim of only one being discussed and made viable.
The socialist council’s proposal, which defended more restrictive ratios for local accommodation (AL) – 5% in absolute containment and 2.5% in relative containment – had the support of the seven councilors from left-wing parties, namely four from PS, one from Livre, one from BE and one from PCP, which was insufficient against the remaining 10 members of the municipal executive and, therefore, was discarded, an official source from the municipality told Lusa.
The initiative signed by the councilor for Housing and Urbanism, Vasco Moreira Rato (independent nominated by the PSD), had the support of the eight elected members of the PSD/CDS-PP/IL leadership and the two councilors of Chega, so that the ratio between AL and permanent housing units is reduced, in areas of absolute containment to “equal to or greater than 10%” and in areas of relative containment to “equal to or greater than 5% and less than 10%”.
As part of the discussion, BE, PCP and Livre proposed changes to Vasco Moreira Rato’s proposal, in the sense that the ratios were more restrictive, suggesting that absolute containment be “equal to or greater than 5%” and relative containment “equal to or greater than 2.5% and less than 5%”, similar to what the PS defended. The changes were, however, rejected, with the PSD/CDS-PP/IL and Chega leadership voting against.
Chega also presented changes to the PSD/CDS-PP/IL proposal regarding the inspection of AL’s mandatory civil liability insurance and the need to present proof that in the previous year there was at least one reservation, explained councilor Bruno Mascarenhas, noting that the idea is to solve the problem of inactive establishments in the city.
Chega’s proposal was approved with votes in favor from PSD/CDS-PP/IL, abstention from PCP and votes against from PS, BE and Livre, having been incorporated into Vasco Moreira Rato’s document, as well as other changes proposed by PCP.
In addition to reducing the ratios, the approved proposal determines the “creation of a single absolute containment area at municipal level, whenever the municipality reaches a ratio equal to or greater than 10%”.
PS, BE, Livre and PCP argued that this area of absolute containment at the municipal level should have a ratio equal to or greater than 5%, as was in the project submitted to public consultation, and currently this ratio in the city is 7.2%, which would make new AL registrations impossible.
In the current RMAL, in force since November 2019, the absolute containment areas are those that have a ratio between AL establishments and the number of permanent housing units “greater than 20%” (plus 20 AL for every 100 dwellings) and the relative containment areas are those with a ratio “equal to or greater than 10% and less than 20%”.
In areas of absolute containment “new registrations of AL establishments are not admissible”, while in areas of relative containment new registrations “may be subject to exceptional authorization by the Lisbon City Council, upon express authorization”.
Based on the PSD/CDS-PP/IL proposal, with data from November 1st, six Lisbon parishes are in absolute containment, namely Santa Maria Maior (66.9%), Misericórdia (43.8%), Santo António (25.1%), São Vicente (16.1%), Arroios (13.5%) and Estrela (10.8%), and there is another that is in relative containment, specifically Avenidas Novas (6.6%).
As for the neighborhoods, nine are in absolute containment – Bom Sucesso, Belém, Ajuda, Alcântara, São Bento, São Sebastião da Pedreira, Picoas, Sapadores and Parque das Nações – and another 13 are in relative containment, according to the proposal.
In the current term (2025-2029), social democrat Carlos Moedas governs in a minority, with eight elected members of the PSD/CDS-PP/IL coalition, leaving one elected member away from obtaining an absolute majority, which would require the election of nine of the 17 members that make up the capital’s executive. In opposition are four councilors from PS, one from Livre, one from BE, two from Chega and one from PCP.