Portugal is on the edge of modernizing their rental legislation to fulfill the difficulties facing the property and construction sectors.
The European Union and IMF would like the law reform as a condition of Portugal's bailout, in a bid to prevent long-term tenants from taking up properties on low rents established 3 decades ago.
The draft law, anticipated to be approved by parliament later this month, will likely result in large rent increases, despite the fact that hard-up ordinary tenants in Western Europe's poorest country are already struggling under austerity and recession.
The move was designed to stimulate the country’s rental market, boost tax revenue from higher rents and improve the construction industry.
The reform aspires to generate fresh work for builders as old run-down properties which landlords have long neglected because of low rents or just left empty will need upgrading.
A study by the Portuguese Industry Confederation indicated that rented property makes up only about 20% of housing being used. The country has about 740 000 empty homes, around the same number as those is being rented.
The reform bill has been welcomed by Manuel Reis Campos, head of the Construction and Real Estate Confederation CPCI, who feels that “the rent and urban rehabilitation bills are extremely important to save the sector, but it will be months before everything is in place”.
Campos estimates that the market for urban reconstruction will be worth €28bn as 1,8 m homes require repairs and renovating.
Source: http://www.btlexpert.com/news.html/NjQy