Latest news and stories about housing support in Leiria, Portugal for expats and residents.
Leiria has completed the analysis of 10,807 applications for storm damage recovery, with 7,694 approved and 2,731 rejected, as the municipality continues to address the aftermath of Storm Kristin.
Municipal leaders have pushed back against Minister Castro Almeida's accusations that local councils are responsible for delays in housing reconstruction support, arguing that the government failed to provide necessary resources and shifted the administrative burden onto them without consultation.
About half of the 35,908 applications for support to recover homes affected by the storms at the beginning of the year have been processed by the Regional Coordination and Development Commissions (CCDR), with a total of 52.76 million euros approved.
The government is extending the deadline for validating and granting financial support for the reconstruction of homes damaged by bad weather earlier this year. Minister of Economy Manuel Castro Almeida acknowledged that the initial June 30 target is unattainable due to a high volume of pending applications in the Central region, specifically in Leiria and Marinha Grande. With over 14,000 applications in these two municipalities alone, local authorities and the CCDR Centro are under significant administrative pressure. Castro Almeida stated that the priority is ensuring homes are repaired and families receive support, rather than strictly adhering to the original calendar, noting that the review process will continue into July if necessary.
The information was provided by the Minister of Economy following news that the municipalities of Marinha Grande and Leiria will not be able to complete the analysis of over 14,000 applications within the deadline.
Councilman Ricardo Santos considered the number of paid applications to be “manifestly low.” He added that “more than five thousand [applications] have already been processed” and some of them have been inspected.
Out of a total of 9,227 applications for support to reconstruct homes damaged by bad weather in the municipality of Leiria, 179 have been paid, the City Council announced today, the day the deadline for submission ends.
The Portuguese government announced in Pombal that it intends to finalise financial support for homes damaged by Storm Kristin by June 30, admitting that the process is significantly behind schedule. Minister Manuel Castro de Almeida noted that only 3,200 of 30,000 applications have been processed, with only four million euros paid out of 250 million available. To accelerate the process, over 750 technicians are being deployed to assist municipalities with damage assessments. Additionally, the government plans to provide advance payments to local councils and is working with the European Commission to ensure that Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) funding remains secure despite project delays caused by the storm.
The Government announced today in Pombal that it intends to have the financial support processes for homes affected by Storm Kristin concluded by 30 June, while acknowledging that there is a significant delay.
From blatant cases of creativity to irregularities linked to a lack of knowledge of the rules, not all applications for reconstruction support in areas affected by the 'train of storms' are being approved, according to Paulo Fernandes, coordinator of the central region mission structure, and the Mayor of Leiria, speaking to ECO/Local Online.
The mayor admits there is “some evidence of a deliberate attempt to deceive the City Council,” but also notes that applications meeting the criteria for approval are being returned due to “changes made over the weekends” by the CCDR.
The mayor states that out of 7,587 applications related to the municipality, “about 1,400 have not yet been verified” by municipal services.
Councilman Ricardo Santos warns of changes to the CCDR Centro application submission platform.
The Leiria City Council aims to ensure that families in the most socially vulnerable situations can access a rental contract in cases where landlords are unable to carry out renovations.
The Municipality of Leiria has unanimously approved an amendment to its Social Emergency Fund following severe weather, increasing financial housing support for families. The move follows the impact of storm Kristin, which caused structural damage and forced evacuations, alongside rising housing costs in the region. The updated policy increases the maximum support to 3,000 euros, covers up to five months of rent, and provides up to 700 euros for security deposits on new leases to help vulnerable households.
Amendment to the Social Emergency Fund now provides support of up to 3,000 euros.
The Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion admitted this Wednesday that the support process for the reconstruction of homes affected by the bad weather “is not going well”
About 60% of the value of the claims already made are in the Leiria district.
As part of a visit to the areas affected in Marinha Grande, the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, highlighted the presence of the European Commissioner for Energy and Housing, Dan Joergensen, on site.
