A group of citizens gathered this morning in front of the headquarters of Housing Investments of Madeira (IHM), in Funchal, to contest the management of waiting lists for social housing and the Reduced Rent Programme. The protesters claim to have been registered for several years without a response and accuse the Regional Government of not complying with Article 65 of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, which enshrines the right to housing.
The demonstrators denounced alleged irregularities in the ordering of applications and the existence of unallocated housing, demanding greater transparency and speed in the processes.
Faced with criticism, the president of the IHM, Leonel Silva, rejected any lack of transparency and assured that:
“It is not true that there is a lack of transparency in the process. The rules are clear, they are published and can be consulted by any citizen,” he said, stressing that the classification criteria, the score awarded, and the final ordering of applications to the Reduced Rent Programme are available on the institution’s website, as well as the final allocation lists, with the safeguarding of personal data.
“We are fully aware of the difficulties that many families face in finding housing solutions, and we are working hard to provide as many answers as possible. Our commitment is to manage the housing stock with rigour and transparency and to continue to strengthen the available supply. It is not possible to build houses overnight, but we are acting responsibly to meet the needs of families,” stated Leonel Silva, IHM President.
As for the allegations that there are houses available without assignment, the official considered it to be “speculation” and explained that, whenever a house becomes vacant, it is immediately flagged, and may appear to be vacant due to the need for renovation or adaptation work before the next family moves in.
“Last year, 34 social housing reassignments were carried out, and, since the beginning of this year, about six, and this process is expected to intensify. At the moment, about 30 dwellings are in the intervention phase,” he said, adding that a strategy of greater rotation of typologies is also underway, adjusting the dwellings to the current size of households, with a view to freeing up dwellings for other families.
Regarding the waiting lists, the leader clarified that there are currently about 2,300 active applications for social housing, with incomes compatible with this regime, subject to confirmation.
IHM currently manages about 4,600 public housing units in the Region. Currently, 301 dwellings are under construction under the RRP, which are scheduled to be allocated by July, through the Reduced Rent programme. At the same time, about 500 families are part of the same programme, and another 500 benefit from rental support. Twenty-one families are also supported in the acquisition of housing, and 35 in the rehabilitation of their homes in the last year, in addition to mortgage support payments.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
Views: 4
