Spain 
Italy 
Greece 
Lisbon Will Look to Acquire Tourist Flats for Public Housing
28 April 2020 – The Lisbon City Council (CML) is looking into the possibility of acquiring ready-to-live private properties to expand the municipality’s holdings of residential properties. The properties under consideration are currently largely used as local tourist accommodations, such as those found on Airbnb.
The CML currently owns 7% of the total housing in Lisbon. Paula Marques, a councillor, argues that the pandemic must change the city’s handling of its housing policies to help families that are suffering both from the increase in rents of the last years and the current crisis. Ms Marques, who believes that the pandemic will further aggravate the existing problems, stated that the “CML must take note at this juncture and consider how it can use the current circumstances to increase its [holdings], in particular homes that are ready to live in.”
According to a proposal, the municipality intends to consult the market to lay the basis for a public tender for the properties.
Original Story: Economia Online / Lusa
Translation/Summary: Richard D. Turner