Francisco César calls for converting tourist accommodations into permanent housing, rehabilitating vacant public properties, and creating partnerships to increase affordable housing across the archipelago.
The leader of the Azorean Socialist Party (PS/Açores), Francisco César, has proposed financial incentives to bring short-term tourist accommodations into the residential rental market, the rehabilitation of vacant public buildings, and expanded rental assistance for middle-income households. Speaking following a meeting with the Azores regional branch of the Portuguese Order of Architects, César argued that the region’s housing difficulties increasingly affect employed residents, young families, and retirees, not only those traditionally eligible for social assistance.
“In the Azores, the housing problem is not merely a problem for people experiencing social deprivation,” César stated, emphasizing that many residents with regular incomes struggle to afford market rents while remaining ineligible for existing assistance programs. He advocated higher rental subsidies and revised eligibility thresholds to address the financial pressures affecting working households and pensioners.
Among his principal proposals is a voluntary incentive program encouraging owners of short-term tourist accommodations to make their properties available for permanent residential rentals, particularly when tourist demand is limited. César argued that regional financial support should complement national incentives, making long-term leasing more attractive without imposing compulsory restrictions on property owners.
The Socialist leader also called for a comprehensive inventory of publicly owned buildings suitable for residential conversion. Noting that the Azorean Region holds more than 2,000 properties, he proposed rehabilitating vacant regional housing and negotiating the transfer of state-owned buildings for residential purposes. Such measures, he suggested, could increase housing availability by making better use of existing public assets.
To stimulate new construction, César advocated public-private partnerships under which the Regional Government would provide land and private developers would finance and build homes offered at affordable rental or purchase prices. “The Region has land; the private sector has initiative and capital,” he said, presenting the approach as a potential means of expanding housing opportunities for the middle class.
The proposals were presented during a meeting attended by regional Socialist deputies and a PS representative on the Ponta Delgada Municipal Council. César said his party intends to pursue housing measures during forthcoming discussions of both the Portuguese State Budget and the Azorean Regional Budget, criticizing what he considers the slow implementation of solutions. “There is a great deal of talk and very little action,” he stated.
The proposed measures would require decisions on funding, eligibility, property conversion, and cooperation with private developers. Together, they outline the Socialist Party’s approach to increasing housing supply and broadening access to assistance at a time when affordability remains a significant concern for households across the Azores.
Based on a story in Diário Insular-José Lourenço-director. The photo is also from DI.