Carneiro accuses Government of wanting “freedom” off the AR

“ O Government is trying to move forward, outside the Assembly of the Republic, with new rental legislation. This is the new urban lease scheme, and what is at stake is the liberalisation of dislodging and opening the door to make it easier to dislodge tenants,” José Luís Carneiro told journalists during a visit to the Feasts of São Miguel in Cabeceiras de Basto, Braga district.

The leader of the socialists recalled that it is in the large urban centers that “there are thousands and thousands of tenants who have very precarious lives”, many of whom already live “in great precariousness, particularly people of advanced age”.

Carneiro gave as an example the case that became the media of the eviction of an elderly woman, 87 years old, in Madrid, which led thousands of people to protest in the streets, resulting from the “liberalization of rents”, carried out by the Spanish Government of the PP – Popular Party.

“ What we are seeing is that the government wants to move forward with these two serious problems: the lack of respect for the Assembly of the Republic, because it wants a legislative authorisation from the Assembly of the Republic to be able to make a decree-law outside the House's scrutiny, and for us [it] is unacceptable; and it wants to liberalize the terms in which the displacements of those who have already very precarious lives are promoted,” explained José Luís Carneiro.

The Secretary-General of the PS understands and agrees that in order to boost the lease it is necessary to provide security to the owners, but argues that, first, it is necessary for the government to proceed with housing offer, and then it is only then that “this greater offer of housing can be accompanied with the new rental regime”.

To avoid “launching in vulnerability people who are already very vulnerable,” namely the elderly who live in the large urban centers and for whom the pension “has hardly reached the end of the month”, José Luís Carneiro appealed to the Government led by Luís Montenegro: “Do not want to legislate in the margins of the Assembly of the Republic as regards the liberalisation of evictions, particularly in the large urban areas”.

“ What the government is trying to do with the new urban lease regime is to take measures, which are inhumane, for those who are experiencing many difficulties in large urban centres. We need to balance investment, particularly in urban rehabilitation, which is fundamental, with the safeguarding of fundamental rights,” the leader of the Socialist Party said.

Carneiro revealed that between Saturday and today he received “several messages” from people living in cities “fearing”.

“ Scared that they might be evicted due to lack of conditions to accompany what might be measured in the law of redundancy ", said the Secretary-General of the PS.

On Wednesday, about four dozen people participated in a vigil in front of the parliament, in a “symbolic action” to ask the parties to refuse “to pass a blank check” to the government to facilitate evictions and the increase in income.