«As in most cities in our territory, also in Faro housing currently represents one of the biggest difficulties for families", said Rogério Bacalhau, president of the Municipality of Faro.
It is with the aim of overcoming this difficulty that the municipality signed this Wednesday, June 15, two contracts to co-finance the construction of a total of 71 new dwellings in the municipality, together with the IHRU - Institute of Housing and Urban Rehabilitation in scope of the PRR – Recovery and Resilience Program.
«These are 22 new homes on Rua Ludovico Menezes, intended for families with economic need, to be awarded through a tender, in a total investment of 2,22 million euros, and 49 new dwellings intended to relocate families that currently reside in Praia in Faro, with a total value of 5,47 million euros, and whose construction is finally possible through applications from the Municipality within the scope of the Recovery and Resilience Plan», explained Rogério Bacalhau.
The difficulty in accessing housing is, as the mayor stressed, «transversal to various segments of the population», however it has increasingly affected young citizens, «who find it difficult to acquire or rent at a value adjusted to their income, as well as the most economically and socially vulnerable sectors of the population'.
It was with these citizens in mind that the City Council approved, in November 2018, the Local Housing Strategy for the Municipality 2018–2025, without which the Municipality could not have applied for this funding.
At the signing ceremony – which was also attended by Isabel Dias, chairman of the IHRU board, and Marina Gonçalves, Secretary of State for Housing – Rogério Bacalhau also stressed that «financing, whether state or community, plays an absolutely central role in the process of construction of social and municipal housing, making it impossible, in the current context, for this to be fully supported by the municipalities».
In addition to these two contracts, signed this Wednesday, the Chamber of Faro already foresees the revision of that Strategy in order to contemplate new projects, as is the case of Estoi, where it is intended to build more than 200 dwellings for sale at controlled costs, but not only.
“All in all, the implementation of the Local Housing Strategy of the Municipality of Faro implies a total investment of more than 25 million euros, with an impact on more than 350 families, namely 205 families for supported rental and 164 for sales at controlled costs», explained the mayor.
Marina Gonçalves, Secretary of State for Housing, also stressed that this signature aims to “ensure that people have access to what they are entitled to, which is the right to housing”. "We cannot think that the municipalities solve the problem alone", she said, referring that Faro can continue to count on the State to guarantee these rights to citizens.
After the signing of the contracts, there was also a visit to the construction works of a new housing at controlled costs, on Rua Capitães de Abril, in Faro – a project that includes the construction of another 90 dwellings.
In statements to the Sul Informação, Rogério Bacalhau stressed that an application regulation is currently being prepared for the allocation of these houses, with one of the focuses being «young families living in Faro or who want to settle” in this city.
«This regulation should go to the Chamber meeting next month. Then it will be under public discussion and we would like to approve it in September or November, to launch a contest and at the beginning of 2023 we can assign these homes to families», he stressed.
Finally, the president of the Chamber of Faro explained that there will be a set of criteria for people to apply and, through the applications, a lottery will then be held to see who will get the housing.
Photos: Mariana Sedge | Sul Informação
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