“This is the path we must follow. I think it's within our reach,” said Miguel Albuquerque, noting that “hundreds of homes of various types” are currently being built in the autonomous region.

“Housing is a problem that isn't difficult to solve,” he said.

Miguel Albuquerque was speaking at the formal ceremony commemorating the 517th anniversary of the City of Funchal, held at the City Hall, where he assured that the Regional Government and the municipality, also led by a PSD/CDS-PP coalition, will continue to collaborate on "structuring and fundamental" projects for the municipality, particularly in the areas of public housing and mobility.

The Madeiran government's chief executive explained that he intends to "update and adapt" the national housing framework law to the region, creating mechanisms that will allow for the advancement of a regional market within the public sector.

"In other words, in addition to overcoming bureaucratic limitations and, above all, some potential fraud that social housing itself can generate, we are creating a market for the rental and sale of public housing, as exists in other countries," he explained, arguing that state-supported housing "can never enter the normal transaction market."

Albuquerque noted that the private real estate market generated €1 billion in Madeira in 2024, but emphasised that it is essential to "create a public housing market that cannot be included in the regular market."

The president of the Regional Government also noted that the public housing ratio in Madeira is already 5% of the population (approximately 250,000 inhabitants), which is double the rate on the mainland.

Furthermore, he advocated changes to the tenancy law to stimulate the market, emphasising that "landlords cannot continue to be seen as speculators."