The new Housing Plan, introduced by Decree-Law 66 of 7 May 2026 and converted into Law 116 of 2 July 2026, aims to address the difficulty of accessing affordable housing. Unlike earlier Housing Plans focused mainly on building extensions and simpler development procedures, its principal purpose is social.
It seeks to increase affordable housing by bringing existing properties back into use, improving public housing and building new homes for people who work but struggle with market prices.
A key measure is a programme to restore public housing currently uninhabitable because it needs maintenance or safety work. Returning these homes to the rental market increases supply without consuming additional land.
The plan also addresses the “grey area”: people who do not meet the financial criteria for public housing but cannot afford private-sector rents or prices. Examples include young couples, university students, workers living away from home, single-income families and separated people. It encourages regulated-price housing and social housing, including arrangements such as rent to buy, allowing immediate occupation with part of the rent credited towards a later purchase.
It also seeks greater private-sector involvement through incentives and streamlined procedures for developments allocating a significant share of homes to controlled rents or prices. Public-private cooperation is intended to expand supply and respond more effectively to the housing emergency.
The plan is not a cash bonus for individual citizens. It is a package of structural measures to increase housing availability, restore unused buildings and improve affordability, combining social needs, urban regeneration and development of the housing stock.