The PETI delegation – Committee on Petitions of the European Parliament visited this Tuesday the housing block of Pico da Torre, in Câmara de Lobos, financed by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR). Leonel Silva, President of Investimentos Habitacionais da Madeira (IHM), presented 19 housing projects in the amphitheatre of Câmara de Lobos, between the Socorridos stream and Cabo Girão, nine of which were financed by the PRR and ten of public housing managed by the IHM. Two buildings still under construction are expected to be completed in June 2026. In the municipality of Câmara de Lobos there are 795 public dwellings, and in the region, about 5,000.
Leonel Silva explained that about 80% of the new dwellings are intended for working-age families with defined incomes, while 150 dwellings are reserved for cases of greater vulnerability, such as victims of domestic violence or families in serious housing need. The average rent for the PRR dwellings is 400 euros. It ranges from 250 and 700 euros, higher than social housing, which is around 100 euros. Currently, about 2,000 people are registered on the platform for affordable rentals, many of them with difficulties in accessing accommodation in the private market.
The objective of the housing policy is to increase the public rental supply from 5 to 6% to 7 to 8% in the coming years, guaranteeing 200 to 250 new or rehabilitated dwellings annually. Silva highlighted structural constraints, such as legal problems in the transferability of real estate and degradation of vacant properties, and conjunctural constraints, such as tourist pressure and post-pandemic external demand.
Pedro Rodrigues, Regional Secretary for Equipment and Infrastructure, reinforced that the policy is aimed at families who have worked for the same firm for two years. Student accommodation is the responsibility of the State, but the articulation with the University of Madeira guarantees solutions for displaced students. Rodrigues also highlighted that the RRP and complementary instruments ensure permanent public housing and affordable rental for Madeiran families.
The PETI delegation started the day with a meeting with the President of the Institute of Forests and Nature Conservation, Manuel Filipe, at Quinta Vila Passos, and in the morning visited the Paul da Serra viewpoint, affected by the fires of 2024. During the afternoon, they viewed projects completed or under construction with funding from the PRR in Pico da Torre and Ribeira da Alforra, in Câmara de Lobos, accompanied by Pedro Rodrigues, before meeting with Miguel Albuquerque at Quinta Vigia and participating in a meeting with Regional Secretaries Micaela Fonseca de Freitas, Eduardo Jesus and Pedro Rodrigues, in the Noble Hall of the Regional Government Building.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
