The stimulation of the rental market in Portugal is still in the Government's sights, which has in mind the creation of a mechanism of support to rents for young workers in the country. With the cost of living in Portugal in 2022 still on the rise, this measure involve around 500 million euros coming from the Labour Compensation Fund (FCT). It should be noted that rental prices in Portugal in 2022 rose 4.5 percent in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter, with the average cost accelerating to 11.8 euros/m2 at the end of September, according to the idealista price index. This is everything you need to know about rent in Portugal in 2022 and the new help on the way to support young workers.
The measure is contained in the Medium-Term Agreement for the Improvement of Wages, Income and Competitiveness signed in October 2022 by the Government, the General Union of Workers (UGT) and employers' confederations, according to Dinheiro Vivo. This solution is still under study and will not be contemplated in the State Budget for 2023 (OE2023), and will likely only come into effect after 2024.
How will the support work?
Companies that have contributed 0.925% of base salaries to the FCT, which is intended to pay up to 50% of severance pay, will be able to use part of the fund's sum to help their workers support their house rent, this being a benefit that complements the employee's income without being through salary updates, the publication writes.
This instrument will be designed only to support young workers to help pay the rent, with property owners who pay a mortgage being excluded from this benefit.
Cited by the publication, António Saraiva, president of the CIP - Confederation of Portuguese Business, said that the FCT has around 600 million euros of contributions paid by employers. The last FCT report, for 2021, shows that the accumulated sum totalled 585 million euros, and most of the amount, the aforementioned around 500 million, will be transferred to the so-called new fund to support rents for young workers.
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