Portugal approves decree to unlock inherited vacant homes and blames rental law

The decree and the July law

Portugal's Council of Ministers approved the final version of the decree-law on undivided inheritances on Thursday, 22 October, after the underlying law had been debated in parliament and promulgated by the President. That law received a final global vote in July, backed by PSD, CDS-PP, PS, IL and JPP. Minister of the Presidency António Leitão Amaro said the government sees the measure as another step toward putting more homes on the market. He described it as a response to what he called the "scourge" of undivided inheritances, which keep properties closed while heirs remain tied together.

Vacant homes and the single-heir rule

Leitão Amaro cited official figures showing 485,000 vacant homes in Portugal, more than half of them in good condition, which he attributed to census data. He said many of these properties are stuck in inheritances that the new rules are meant to release.

According to official data, there are 485,000 vacant homes, more than half in good condition.

Under the regime, a single heir can demand the sale of an inherited property after two years without an agreement among the heirs. The minister said this removes the situation in which one heir could block the division and the sale of a property. The decree gives effect to the law passed in July, and the government presents it as a way to bring idle homes back into use.

The rental law and the PS dispute

Leitão Amaro blamed the rental law approved under the previous "geringonça" arrangement, which he called "castrador" (castrating), for pushing homes out of the rental market. According to RTP, he said the law penalises the decision of owners to offer their homes for rent and creates compression in the market. He acknowledged that the law is not the only cause of the housing crisis, naming insufficient construction as the largest cause.

He answered a letter from José Luís Carneiro by challenging the PS to change the law its own members had approved.

The PS law is the law that takes homes off the market. We need a law that puts homes on the market.

RTP reported that the minister said the law needing change is the one from the geringonça era, not the one the government is now preparing. Expresso reports that protesters are demanding the law be withdrawn entirely.

Chega and immigration

Leitão Amaro said the government's proposal is more robust than the one André Ventura's Chega put in its electoral programme, but he played down the disagreement and said the government would pursue Chega's suggestions. He linked the housing crisis to migration, saying that over the past seven years the number of foreign residents rose by 1.2 million, creating about 200,000 new people seeking housing each year. He contrasted that with about 15,000 homes built per year, figures he presented at the briefing.

The blame does not lie with the immigrant looking for a home; it lies with the irresponsibility of the politicians who governed the country in that period.

He also rejected any responsibility of the current government for the rise in house prices.