Order of Architects requests meeting of the National Housing Council

A Order of Architects (OA) today requested the extraordinary convening of the National Housing Council in the face of the “growing centrality” of the theme in Portuguese society.

In a letter today sent to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing, to which Lusa had access, the OA requires the convening of this consultation body of the Government “with maximum brevity”.

“The National Housing Council has particularly appropriate conditions to promote this debate. Its composition integrates representatives of professional, scientific and sectorial organizations, public entities, associations of municipalities and parishes, organizations of residents, cooperatives and other actors”, can be read in missive.

It is for this body to “send an opinion on the proposal for a National Housing Programme and on the Annual Housing Report” and to make proposals to the Government.

Among the proposals sent by the Order are the definition of a “National Housing System” that can “structure an articulated public response” with complementary axes, such as the urgent and temporary response, the territorial operationalization of housing policies and a planning, monitoring and evaluation system.

The following are the supervision and regulation of housing conditions, creating a new entity for this purpose, and the development of a Housing and Rent Code.

“ To bring together, harmonise and clarify the main applicable legal regimes, ensuring greater transparency and security for citizens, public entities, owners, investors and other stakeholders,” adds the OA.

They also suggest the “imperative to produce continuous housing solutions for the different levels of accessibility” in terms of social and accessible housing, with an analysis, first, and then to measure “the need for revision and reinforcement of the First Law”.

“The Order of Architects considers that the size and persistence of the housing problem require more than short-term responses or isolated measures. They demand a vision of the whole, institutional stability, policy articulation, ability to execute and permanent evaluation of the results ", defends this body.

The National Housing Council was created in 2021, resulting from the Housing Bases Act, replacing an agency that already worked with the Urban Housing and Rehabilitation Institute (IHRU).

The Order further argues that this mobilization of society is “a positive sign, creating conditions for a broader discussion and for the construction of convergent proposals around one of the most relevant national challenges”.

On the other hand, it sees with “concern” the frequency of individual proposals in the public debate, “precipitous conclusions and measures that do not always reveal the necessary coherence” and “some public interventions” that end up “enhancing divergences and hindering the construction of an environment of confidence essential for the implementation of structural policies and urgent measures”.

“ The dimension of the housing problem, confirmed by the statistical indicators and the persistent difficulties in accessing housing, requires collective mobilization, a greater articulation between the different public policies and a reflection that goes beyond the political cycles and the fragmentation of institutional responses ", says.