The 14th Urban Rehabilitation Week in Porto recently hosted a conference on creating a new housing cycle in Portugal. The event brought together experts from various sectors, including banking, law, cooperatives, real estate promotion, and the public sector. They analyzed the necessary conditions to transform recent legislative and fiscal changes into new homes on the market. The discussion centered on whether the current conditions are sufficient to increase the housing supply.
The conference highlighted the need for greater availability of land, legal security, adequate financing, and execution capacity. Despite new tools being available, experts agreed that predictability and concrete project execution are crucial. Francisco Rocha Antunes, ULI Global Trustee and founder of MOME, presented the idea of a new cooperative housing cycle in Portugal. He emphasized that the country had many cooperatives, but mostly with individual ownership, and that a new cycle would focus on collective ownership.
Rocha Antunes noted that cooperative housing has existed in Portugal since 1894, with a significant surge after the 25th of April revolution. By the 1990s, there were around 400 cooperatives, which built between 160,000 and 200,000 homes. However, by 2025, the number of active cooperatives had decreased to 192, with a limited impact on the housing supply. The problem, according to Rocha Antunes, lay in the model, where cooperatives built at controlled costs, but the homes were sold to individuals with commercial bank loans.
The expert cited examples of successful collective ownership models in Matosinhos, Évora, and other European countries. In Zurique, 18% of housing is owned by cooperatives, while in Denmark, there are two forms of non-profit housing: andelsboliger and almene boliger. The Netherlands also has a successful model, with woningcorporaties owning 28% of the national housing stock. Rocha Antunes emphasized that the key is not the legal form but the principle of cost and permanence.
The European Affordable Housing Plan, presented in December 2025, opens up financing for the cost rental model. The plan includes a new decision on Services of General Economic Interest, which allows member states to support affordable housing without prior notification to Brussels. The European Investment Bank has pledged €6 billion in loans for housing in 2026, and European development banks have committed to €375 billion by 2029.
To access this financing, Portugal needs to meet four conditions, according to Rocha Antunes. Firstly, municipalities must provide land through long-term surface rights, free of charge. Secondly, financing is necessary, including a €1.5 billion line from the Portuguese Development Bank, with €500 million allocated to cooperatives. Thirdly, governance is essential, through a union of cooperatives that separates the assets and risk. Finally, Portugal needs to develop the capacity to transform land and financing into homes.
The experts at the conference agreed that the new housing cycle in Portugal requires a combination of land, financing, and predictability. They emphasized the need for municipalities to make land available and for the government to provide adequate financing and support. The success of the new housing cycle depends on the ability to execute concrete projects and create a sustainable and affordable housing supply.
Key points
- Experts stress the need for greater availability of land, legal security, and adequate financing to increase the housing supply in Portugal.
- The European Affordable Housing Plan opens up financing for the cost rental model, which can be accessed by meeting four conditions.
- Portugal's new housing cycle requires a combination of land, financing, and predictability to create a sustainable and affordable housing supply.
