Politicians Rewriting Portugal's Rental Law Declare More Than 1,000 Properties Between Them, Público Finds: What They Must Disclose and When They Must Declare an Interest

The 220 politicians who make up the Government and the parliamentary groups of the PSD, Chega, the Liberal Initiative (IL) and CDS-PP declare 1,039 properties between them, according to an investigation published by Público on Monday. Público puts their combined taxable value (valor patrimonial) above 55 million euros, and finds more than 807,000 euros of declared rental income and shareholdings in dozens of real-estate companies. By the paper's count the group includes 41 landlords and 31 real-estate investors.

These are the parties that have been passing measures which, Público says, favour property owners, including tax relief already in force and the rental law changes heading for a vote. Owning or letting property is legal, and the figures come from declarations the politicians are required to file. The question the report raises is one of conflict of interest: how much the people writing housing law have at stake in it, and what the rules require of them.

Where the rental law stands

The rental rewrite is Government Bill 103, which passed its general vote on 30 September with PSD, IL and CDS-PP in favour and Chega abstaining, and is now in committee. It would let the Government change the urban lease regime by decree, including letting a landlord end a lease after two months of arrears and ask for up to three months' rent in advance. Nothing has changed yet for tenants or landlords. The bill has also drawn street protest, including the camps in Porto and Lisbon's Rossio.

What politicians must declare

Under Lei n.º 52/2019, MPs, members of the Government and other officeholders must file a single declaration of income, assets, interests, incompatibilities and impediments within 60 days of taking office, and again within 30 days of any change in assets worth more than 50 monthly minimum wages. It covers property held directly, through a company or through another person, plus shareholdings and debts. The declarations are filed electronically with the Entidade para a Transparência, the body that checks them.

The law makes the declarations public, within limits. For property, anyone may see each building's tax registration, location and taxable value, but not a home address. Income and assets can be consulted only on a reasoned, identified request, in person or through a time-limited online credential, and may not be copied or posted online. The register of interests itself is open to all on the Entidade's platform, searchable by body, post and name.

The rule on MPs with an interest

Article 27 of the Estatuto dos Deputados requires an MP who tables a bill or takes part in committee or plenary work to declare any particular interest in the matter first, unless it already appears in their declaration. It cites, among the causes of a possible conflict, an MP or close family member holding rights or being party to contracts whose effects a law would directly alter. The Estatuto does not bar the MP from voting. Instead, parliament's Transparency and MPs' Statute Committee records such declarations, can give an opinion on conflicts declared or undeclared, and can check the accuracy of declarations at any citizen's reasoned request.

No reaction from the Government or the parties named had been reported by early Monday. The bill is due back from committee before a final vote; we will report on it as it moves. For the wider market backdrop, see the Bank of Portugal's study of housing demand and rents and the new affordable-rent ceilings.