The Municipality of Vila Real de Santo António and the Institute of Housing and Urban Rehabilitation (IHRU) signed, this Wednesday, a collaboration agreement within the scope of the “1st Right” Programme. The measure represents the start of the Local Housing Strategy (ELH) of the municipality and has a planned investment of 101 million euros.
The ceremony, held in the Main Hall of the VRSA City Council, was attended, among other individuals, by the Secretary of State for Housing Marina Gonçalves, the president of IHRU Isabel Dias, the president of the Commission for Coordination and Regional Development (CCDR) of the Algarve José Apolinário, and the mayor Álvaro Araújo.
Actions in favor of families in the municipality will support a total of 812 households and more than 1.221 people with housing needs of various kinds, with 100% financing by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).
As President Álvaro Araújo had already revealed in an interview with Sul Informação, the ELH of the Municipality of VRSA is one of the most well-funded in the country and the largest in the Algarve, only comparable to the existing ratios of the municipalities in the metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto. It provides for the construction of new housing, the recovery of the existing housing stock and the promotion of affordable rental.
The program highlights four strategic axes: resolution of unworthy situations through the implementation of housing solutions within the scope of the “1st Right”; strengthening the response and housing accessibility through planning and management; increase in the supply, quality and promotion of the housing stock; promotion of the territory, social integration and preventive action.
At the ceremony, Mayor Álvaro Araújo emphasized the record time of less than a year in which this project was developed from scratch, stressing that it meets the priorities of families and will put an end to housing precariousness.
He stressed that the diagnosis was carried out, during the last year, "by specialized teams that went into the field and identified, on the spot, a more serious reality than expected».
«This application represents, therefore, a paradigm shift and puts an end to the recurrent oblivion regarding the construction, repair and maintenance of housing equipment in the municipality. On the other hand, it is a clear bet on correcting the levels of real estate speculation, looking for an affordable housing solution so that young people can settle down and live in Vila Real de Santo António», said Álvaro Araújo.
«This investment, both for its size and for the high number of households it supports, constitutes a historic milestone for the development of our land and represents a commitment of this executive to Vila Realenses families», concluded the mayor.
The creation of the ELH is a mandatory requirement for access to the financing lines of the «Program to Support Access to Housing – 1st Right», which aims to promote housing solutions for people living in unworthy conditions and without the financial capacity to support the cost of accessing adequate housing.
It is estimated that the implementation of the VRSA Local Housing Strategy, specifically the resolution of unworthy situations under the "1st Right" program, involves a global investment of around 101 million euros, financed 100% by the Recovery and Resilience (PRR).
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