There are several updates in the moratorium law on mortgages in Portugal. The law that establishes an exceptional and temporary scheme, because of the COVID-19 outbreak, for the protection for credits of families, companies, and private institutions of social solidarity, has been amended, and now includes lawyers and solicitors. It is also known that emigrants with loans in Portugal will also have access to the moratorium, and that subsidised credit is included in this Government package.
The measure, which will alleviate the burden of benefits to those affected by the negative economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, will be in force for six months, until 30th September this year, but has already been adjusted. The decree was unclear, for example, about its application to lawyers and solicitors, who were being denied moratorium requests because of this. This class of workers came to report the situation, demanding access to this social protection measure.
Because of the doubts of interpretation that the law raised, the Government has published an amendment (interpretative rule) to two articles in Diário da República, the official gazette of Portugal. The document states that "the provisions of article 2(2)(a) [beneficiaries] should be interpreted in the sense of covering the beneficiaries of the Caixa de Previdência dos Advogados e Solicitadores (Provident Fund for Lawyers and Solicitors) who have their respective contribution status regularised or are in the process of regularisation through a benefit plan agreed with the Provident Fund for Lawyers and Solicitors".
The issue of subsidised credit, another of the doubts that was being raised, is also clarified in this amendment. The Executive states that "the provisions of Article 2(2)(a) should be interpreted as also covering subsidised credit schemes for permanent owner-occupied housing".
The Decree establishes the obligations of financial entities
The aforementioned decree-law also established a number of obligations for financial entities, which "have the duty to disclose and advertise the measures provided for in this decree-law on their websites and through the usual contacts with their clients", and are also "obliged to give full knowledge of all the measures provided for in this decree-law prior to the formalisation of any credit agreement whenever the client is a beneficiary entity".
Emigrants will also have access to the moratorium
The moratorium on home loans will also be extended to emigrants, after several Portuguese who work abroad but have a home loan in Portugal have made appeals. The information was provided by the president of the Portuguese Banking Association (APB), Faria de Oliveira, in an interview with RTP3.
He said that the measure is being prepared and that it should be known in the next few days, and that very soon the moratorium on consumer credit will be advanced.
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