Parliament approved the Mais Habitação program again today, without changes, with only the PS's favorable vote, in a review after the President of the Republic's veto.
The confirmation of decree 81/XV, which approves measures in the area of housing, making several legislative changes, was made possible by the absolute majority of the PS, with votes against from the PSD, Chega, Liberal Initiative, PCP and Bloco de Esquerda, and abstention from the Livre and PAN, repeating the program's final global vote in July.
The opposition parties presented several amendment proposals for voting in the plenary session, all of which were rejected by the socialist deputies, accompanied, as appropriate, by other parliamentary groups.
The decree of the Assembly of the Republic involves legislative changes in terms of leasing, local accommodation, vacant properties and taxes.
When he vetoed the diploma, in August, the President of the Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa assumed a «serene negative analytical judgment» and criticized the lack of party consensus on Mais Habitação, but the minister responsible for it, Marina Gonçalves, reaffirmed the idea of there being balance in the program and the PS said it would confirm the measures when reopening parliament after the summer.
The diploma approved in the final global vote in July, now confirmed, had some changes in relation to the first version proposed by the Government, which did not prevent opposition from the opposition and business and civil society associations linked to housing.
Despite the veto on the package approved in parliament, a Government decree was promulgated by the President of the Republic that reforms and simplifies licensing related to housing, with Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa warning that he will be attentive to compatibility with the safety and quality of buildings.
With this simplification, architectural projects are now licensed only based on the designers' terms of responsibility and public entities will be penalized in the event of delays in issuing opinions.
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