Enabling the right to decent housing
Within the framework of its duties to promote the economic, social and environmental planning and management of the territory, the Lisbon Metropolitan Area has developed an action plan for housing, in response to the opportunity launched in this area by the Recovery and Resilience Plan.
The plan defines a collective, collaborative and shared path, which we believe will allow us to find a diverse set of responses that make the right to adequate and dignified housing possible in the Lisbon metropolitan area.
It includes interventions in the programs to support access to housing, urgent and temporary housing and affordable housing, and capitalizes on the reflective and strategic process being undertaken by the 18 municipalities in the Lisbon metropolitan area.
It will be materialized through substantial investment in the Lisbon metropolitan area, through a strategy common to all municipalities.
The creation, in 2022, of a framework agreement (for project preparation, project review, geological and geotechnical prospecting, and preparation of a simplified project) in order to aggregate efforts at a regional level for the operationalization of Local Housing Strategies, the signing, in 2023, of cooperation protocols with the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Lisbon, and the Institute of Housing and Urban Rehabilitation, the signing of an inter-administrative cooperation contract with LNEC, in 2024, and the presentation, in 2022 , an unprecedented Diagnosis of Unworthy Housing Conditions, which represents the first survey of unworthy housing conditions, carried out on a metropolitan scale, are some of the initiatives carried out by AML.
Municipal applications
Os 18 municípios da área metropolitana de Lisboa elaboraram 747 candidaturas à componente habitação do PRR, que totalizam cerca de 24.800 fogos (19.600 para reabilitação e 5.200 de nova construção). O valor total do investimento candidatado é de cerca de 1.5 milhões de euros.
Até dezembro de 2024 estavam aprovados cerca de 9.500 fogos (342 candidaturas), sendo 7.100 reabilitações e 2.400 construções novas (valores aproximados).
As candidaturas dos municípios contemplam ainda cerca de 370 alojamentos urgentes e temporários e 400 camas para alojamento estudantil (dados de setembro de 2024).
Cooperation contract with LNEC
The Lisbon Metropolitan Area and the National Civil Engineering Laboratory signed, in April 2024, an inter-administrative cooperation contract for the preparation of maps of work quantities and technical conditions, within the scope of the construction of a new framework agreement for contracting of contracts for simple rehabilitation interventions and simple maintenance interventions in the region's housing stock.
The formalization of the contract, which aims at the future conclusion of public housing works contracts by the municipalities of the Lisbon metropolitan area, follows the survey of the needs expressed by the municipalities regarding the contracting of simple and simple maintenance interventions.
The document will be another instrument available to municipalities in their work to requalify and strengthen the housing stock in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, to be developed within the scope of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) for the promotion of supported housing, namely through rehabilitation existing assets or new construction.
AML will, therefore, continue its action in the housing area, with the development of a new framework agreement in this area, because the eligibility of expenditure depends on compliance with a set of demanding technical and calendar requirements, which advise to an aggregation of efforts at a regional level regarding the operationalization of Local Housing Strategies. And, in this field, one of the aspects with the greatest impact on the ability to execute these strategies will be the ability to contract execution projects and works, quickly and in compliance with the applicable regulatory framework.
The contract also includes technical assistance in responding to possible requests for clarification, errors and omissions in competitions.
Housing framework agreement
Given the complexity of the technical and timing requirements inherent in the Recovery and Resilience Plan, AML and the municipalities decided to move forward with the creation of a framework agreement, in order to aggregate efforts at regional level for the operationalization of the Local Housing Strategies.
In 2022, AML therefore launched a public tender for a framework agreement under its housing action plan, structured into four lots: for project preparation, project review, geological and geotechnical survey and simplified project preparation.
With the creation of this framework agreement, it is hoped not only to achieve significant savings in the supply of goods and services, but also to align the centralized purchasing policy of AML, its municipalities and other member entities with the global public purchasing policy.
Following the publication of the international public tender and the period for submitting proposals, AML evaluated and selected the best teams, based on the experience of the design teams and the price/hour charged, with which it signed the framework agreement. Around 40 architectural, engineering and geotechnical companies and studios signed the framework agreement in December 2022.
In this second phase, municipalities launched invitations to submit proposals.
Até setembro de 2024, oito municípios da área metropolitana de Lisboa já tinham formalizado 62 pedidos de utilização do acordo-quadro, no âmbito das suas candidaturas. 27 para a elaboração de projetos de arquitetura ou especialidades, 18 para a revisão de projetos de arquitetura ou especialidades, 10 para serviços de prospeção geológico-geotécnica dos terrenos e 7 para a elaboração de projetos simplificados.
The processes end with the signing of contracts between the municipality and the project team.
Cooperation protocols
In July 2023, the Lisbon Metropolitan Area signed cooperation protocols with the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Lisbon and the Institute of Housing and Urban Rehabilitation.
Cooperation protocol with IHRU - Institute for Housing and Urban Rehabilitation
The Institute for Housing and Urban Rehabilitation is the public body that promotes national housing policy and plays a particularly important role as the body responsible for implementing investments in the sector.
The main objectives of this cooperation instrument are to support the process of preparing, submitting and approving applications for RRP funds and to promote their speed, to accompany and monitor the process of executing the contracted investments, minimizing potential delays in relation to the planned planning, to support the municipalities in the legal reports to which they are obliged and to contribute to the execution of the RRP investments in housing in the Lisbon metropolitan area.
The cooperation focuses on the applications of the municipalities of the Lisbon metropolitan area submitted or to be submitted to the PRR funds, as well as the investments contracted under the three lines of investment under the responsibility of the IHRU: program to support access to housing, national exchange of urgent and temporary housing and public affordable housing. The cooperation includes all the municipalities that make up the AML.
The IHRU's responsibilities under the protocol include supporting the development of survey forms relating to the planning of municipal applications and their execution and monitoring, among others.
A monthly meeting is also planned to provide clarification on application processes or operations financed by AML municipalities.
The AML, in turn, undertakes to develop a metropolitan information platform in the field of housing that allows for the collection and processing of data on submitted and approved applications, as well as data on the implementation and planning of investments.
The AML is also responsible for surveying the municipalities about pending situations regarding application processes or financed operations that should be clarified with the IHRU.
Cooperation protocol with the Faculty of Architecture (University of Lisbon)
The growing importance that AML has assumed as a mobilizing, facilitating and coordinating agent for the housing activities of its constituent municipalities, the increased priority given to housing-related matters in the national context and specifically within the scope of the municipalities, and the importance that the proper implementation of the RRP will have in the field of housing are the basis for signing this commitment.
The protocol aims to strengthen and frame cooperation and exchange relations between AML and FA-UL in the field of housing, so that both can benefit from the development of joint initiatives. The cooperation initiatives to be developed will focus on housing and territorial and urban policies.
The awareness that the support that has been developed by the AML in the field of housing should be strengthened and extended beyond the implementation of the PRR, the relevance that the theme of housing has in the context of the teaching promoted by the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Lisbon, the importance attributed by the faculty to the relationship with the AML, its territory, and the municipalities that constitute it, the development of applied scientific research projects in this area of knowledge, and the fruitful work developed in cooperation and partnership by these two entities in the field of housing were also important premises of the agreement.
Both institutions undertake to continue, broaden and deepen their cooperation and partnership in the field of housing, particularly with regard to monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the RRP, developing basic studies on the housing dynamics present in the AML territory and on public housing policies, and monitoring and supporting municipal action, either by providing technical and scientific advice and applied scientific research studies, or by strengthening the skills of their technical staff.
An addendum was also signed that will allow the Research Center of the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Lisbon to support its municipalities in drawing up their Municipal Housing Charters, promoting access for all to tools, knowledge and training that will enable them to carry them out properly and on time, through two separate but interconnected initiatives: the design of a "Guide to Drawing Up Municipal Housing Charters" and the promotion of a "Postgraduate Course on Municipal Housing Charters", in conjunction with the study to be developed as part of the guide, with a view to building the skills of the AML technical staff and its constituent municipalities.
A complementary agreement was also established, within the scope of the "New Generation of Housing" Alliance cooperation protocol, signed between AML and FA-UL on November 11, 2021.
The agreement defines the terms applicable to the provision of specialized training to the AML and its constituent municipalities by FA-UL, as part of the training project developed under the "New Generation of Housing" Alliance Cooperation Protocol.
Metropolitan housing and habitat observatory
The creation of a metropolitan observatory for housing and habitat, which would extend and deepen what is underway in this area, is also being worked on by the Lisbon Metropolitan Area.
Este observatório, que está a ser desenvolvido pelo Centro de investigação em Arquitetura, Urbanismo e Design da Faculdade de Arquitetura da Universidade de Lisboa, reforçará a dimensão territorial e urbana da habitação, fortalecerá o apoio aos municípios relativamente às suas atribuições e competências nestes domínios e maximizará a utilidade futura dos projetos já realizados e em curso.
It will focus in particular on aspects that have a clear metropolitan or public expression.
Terá como principal desígnio apoiar a atuação da administração pública, às escalas local e metropolitana, nos domínios das políticas de habitação, planeamento e gestão do património habitacional municipal, existente e a promover, incluindo a sua monotorização e avaliação.
Este instrumento, com a área metropolitana de Lisboa como âmbito territorial, consubstancia-se numa base de dados e respetiva plataforma eletrónica, que visa permitir a criação e aplicação de informação e conhecimentos especializados em quatro grandes áreas temáticas complementares:
- Dinâmicas habitacionais e territoriais – Recolha e disponibilização de dados e informação sobre as dinâmicas populacionais, habitacionais e territoriais com relevância para as políticas de habitação;
- Património habitacional municipal – Recolha e disponibilização de dados e informação sobre o parque habitacional existente, em promoção e a criar, com base no previsto nas Estratégias Locais de Habitação e nas Cartas Municipais de Habitação;
- Instrumentos de política de habitação – Recolha e disponibilização de dados e informação sobre os instrumentos mobilizáveis e relevantes para o desenvolvimento das estratégias e políticas de habitação municipais e supramunicipais, abrangendo não só os instrumentos de financiamento, como também os legais e regulamentares de apoio à intervenção no domínio;
- Acessibilidade habitacional e mobilidade – Aferição da acessibilidade média do parque habitacional municipal em transporte público, bem como a possibilidade de simulação da acessibilidade média em transporte público de terrenos/edifícios disponíveis ou devolutos (integrada na aferição da aptidão habitacional) e do impacto para a habitação municipal de alterações de paragens/rotas de transportes públicos.
Prevê-se que possa estar ativo no segundo semestre de 2026, e que produza, periodicamente, sínteses globais de informação e também relatórios com informação mais detalhada, tanto à escala municipal, como à escala metropolitana.
Diagnosis of Inadequate Housing Conditions in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area
The Diagnosis of Inadequate Housing Conditions in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area was presented in November 2022.
The unprecedented study is the first survey of undignified housing conditions carried out on a metropolitan scale and was produced for the Lisbon Metropolitan Area by a team from the University of Lisbon's Faculty of Architecture, led by Ana Pinho, Luís Carvalho and David Vale.
The diagnosis allowed for an updated and exhaustive survey of households in unworthy housing conditions, which currently persist in the metropolitan territory, and is, in the words of the metropolitan first secretary, Carlos Humberto de Carvalho, "a contribution to clarifying the scale of the complex problems, and the demanding paths we all have to take to solve them, in whole or in part".
The diagnosis shows that there are around 50,000 households living in these conditions in the Lisbon metropolitan area (around 4% of all households in the region, out of an estimated 134,000 people).
According to the same study, around a fifth of families living in the region have more than 400 euros in housing costs (rent or bank payments), which is double the national average.
The study also states that 62% of families are in a situation of "housing inaccessibility", meaning that if they want to look for another suitable home in their municipality of residence, they will have to spend more than 40% of their income.
On a positive note, the number of vacant dwellings in the Lisbon metropolitan area fell by 14% in the last decade, in contrast to the rest of the country.
The framework outlined in the diagnosis demonstrates the relevance of the lines of action identified by the municipalities in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area housing plan, which covers multiple ways of resolving unworthy housing conditions: increasing the public housing supply, rehabilitating the existing public housing stock, rehabilitating housing owned by the occupants, in cases where they are in an unworthy housing situation (and are eligible under the 1st Right), rehabilitating degraded areas (patios, villas and AUGIS), and providing urgent and emergency housing (which includes situations provided for in the 1st Right as "vulnerable people").rehabilitation of degraded areas (courtyards, villas and AUGIS); and the provision of urgent and temporary accommodation (which includes the situations referred to in the 1st Right as "vulnerable people").
See the full diagnosis here.
Events
“Desafios que precisam de Soluções” (novembro 2024)
A habitação na área metropolitana de Lisboa, nas suas múltiplas dimensões e interseções, esteve no centro do encontro “Desafios que precisam de Soluções”, que reuniu mais de 200 participantes no Auditório Carlos Avilez, no Estoril, em novembro de 2024.
The meeting, organized by the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, with the collaboration of Cascais City Council, showed the emergence of a metropolitan approach to housing, which can help overcome problems common to all municipalities in the region, the need to strengthen cooperation networks between the various levels of government, and the indispensability of political commitment on the part of the central administration.
The consolidation and development of collective, collaborative and shared processes with municipalities, the government and other institutions working in this field is the path that must continue to be followed by everyone.
The Lisbon metropolitan region, as the country's main engine of development, has a responsibility to help create and implement solutions for the development of the country as a whole.
The meeting was attended by mayors, experts and representatives of central government institutions, as well as local technicians and other institutions linked to the housing sector.
The opening session was attended by Carlos Carreiras, mayor of Cascais, and Basílio Horta, president of the Lisbon Metropolitan Council.
Após a sessão de abertura, foi apresentado o trabalho que a Área Metropolitana de Lisboa tem estado a desenvolver no domínio da habitação. Destacaram-se projetos, ações de formação, o apoio à atuação municipal e o acompanhamento e monitorização.
No encontro foram ainda apresentados diversos projetos municipais que estão em curso nos municípios da Amadora, Oeiras e Setúbal.
Contemplou ainda uma mesa-redonda sobre os desafios atuais da habitação moderada pelo investigador do Instituto Superior Técnico, da Universidade de Lisboa, Jorge Gonçalves, que contou com a participação de Inês de Medeiros, presidente da Câmara Municipal de Almada, Filipa Roseta, vereadora da Câmara Municipal de Lisboa, Luís Ferreira, reitor da Universidade de Lisboa, e Henrique Joaquim, gestor da Estratégia Nacional para a Integração das Pessoas em Situação de Sem-Abrigo.
The multiple crises that exist within housing, the current articulation between the actors most involved in the solution and the communities affected, the main difficulties in implementation, the right to the city and urbanism, the need for a broader territorial approach, the situation of homeless people, and the problems related to the lack of student accommodation were some of the issues addressed.
Durante o encontro foi também apresentado o observatório metropolitano da habitação e do habitat, que está a ser desenvolvido pelo Centro de Investigação em Arquitetura, Urbanismo e Design da Faculdade de Arquitetura da Universidade de Lisboa. O objetivo desta plataforma é criar um instrumento de apoio à atuação dos municípios e da Área Metropolitana de Lisboa nos domínios da política de habitação, planeamento e gestão do património habitacional municipal, incluindo a sua monitorização e avaliação. Prevê-se que o observatório seja uma estrutura em funcionamento permanente, suportado por uma base de dados e plataforma eletrónica.
The meeting ended with speeches by Nuno Piteira Lopes, vice mayor of Cascais, Benjamim Pereira, president of the Institute for Housing and Urban Rehabilitation, and Carlos Humberto de Carvalho, metropolitan first secretary.
“Os caminhos e desafios para a habitação na área metropolitana de Lisboa” (novembro 2022)
In November 2022, the Faculty of Architecture hosted the event Paths and challenges for housing in the Lisbon metropolitan area, which was attended by Marina Gonçalves, Secretary of State for Housing, Carla Tavares, President of the Lisbon Metropolitan Council, Carlos Humberto de Carvalho, Metropolitan First Secretary, and Carlos Dias Coelho, President of the Faculty of Architecture, among other participants.
The initiative, promoted by the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, brought together a series of experts who addressed, from multiple perspectives, the need and urgency of building a public response to the situations of housing indignity that persist in the region.
In front of an attentive audience of around 150 people, the Secretary of State for Housing, Marina Gonçalves, stressed that the Lisbon Metropolitan Area's housing plan is "an adequate response to those who need a decent housing solution" and reflects "a new vision of housing as a pillar of the welfare state".
Carla Tavares, president of the Lisbon Metropolitan Council, stressed that "the plan by the Lisbon Metropolitan Area and the municipalities is an important step towards finding new solutions in the field of housing, and reflects a new path towards reducing the asymmetries that are still very pronounced in the region".
Carlos Humberto de Carvalho, metropolitan first secretary, highlighted all the work done in this area by the AML, stressing, however, "that there is still a lot to be done, and that the AML is deeply committed to giving every support to cooperate with the municipalities, so that there are fewer and fewer people in situations of housing need and exclusion".
The initiative also served to publicize the Diagnosis of Inadequate Housing Conditions in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, produced for the Lisbon Metropolitan Area by a team from the University of Lisbon's Faculty of Architecture.
At the end of the initiative, there was a lively round table discussion on housing shortages and solutions in the Lisbon metropolitan area, moderated by journalist Filomena Lança, from Jornal de Negócios, with the participation of Rui Estríbio, from the Institute of Housing and Urban Rehabilitation, Ana Vitória Azevedo, from Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, Jorge Malheiros, from the Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning and Frederico Arruda, from Refundos and the Urban Land Institute.
Carlos Dias Coelho, president of the Faculty of Architecture, also stressed the importance of this event for his institution.