Through the recently approved "Back to the Neighbourhood" program, the municipality decided at a council session to open the 39th round of the Affordable Rent Program (PRA).

This public policy aims to inject approximately 700 affordable housing units into the local market over the next few years, exclusively to attract young people to consolidated and historically significant urban areas.

In this initial phase, corresponding to the PRA 39 competition, the municipality will draw an initial pool of 25 units. The properties are spread across eight parishes in the capital, including Arroios, Avenidas Novas, Campo de Ourique, Lumiar, Misericórdia, Santa Maria Maior, Santo António, and São Domingos de Benfica.

This allocation follows the operational effort made last year through the PRA 35 tender, when municipal services made available a larger batch of 102 dwellings in the heart of the city, demonstrating the continuity of the decentralisation and rehabilitation strategy for public buildings.

The regulations governing access to this competition establish specific eligibility criteria, limiting the pool of candidates to young people aged 35 or under. Additionally, to safeguard the spirit of community belonging, candidates must be current residents or have a history of residence in the same parish as the housing they are applying for.

With this regulatory framework, the municipality aims to alleviate the pressure of the speculative real estate market, enabling solutions that guarantee the financial sustainability of families starting their professional lives and strengthening territorial cohesion.

Carlos Moedas, the mayor, argued that the new facility constitutes a tangible response to one of the structural priorities of the current mandate, which focuses on expanding the housing stock with rents compatible with young people's incomes.

The mayor argued that, in addition to mitigating the housing crisis, the plan acts as an engine for generational continuity, protecting the networks of family solidarity and neighbourhood ties that define the cultural identity and history of Lisbon's most charismatic neighbourhoods.