The Minister of Infrastructure and Housing today came out in defense of the Housing and Urban Rehabilitation Institute (IHRU) and downplayed the complaints that have arisen regarding delays in income support.
In a hearing at the Assembly of the Republic, within the scope of the specialized assessment of the State Budget proposal for 2026, Miguel Pinto Luz guaranteed that “Porta 65 is complying with the steps that the legislation requires, 45 days of response”.
The guarantee was given in response to Chega, which criticized the IHRU’s response to that and other income support programs.
“We have thousands of families who are desperate for support at this time (…), the IHRU is not responding to anything, what is happening is a scandal, we have families waiting for a response for over a year”, said deputy Carlos Barbosa (Chega), asking when the situation will be resolved.
In response, the minister came out in defense of the IHRU and denied that “only 20 passwords per day” are being made available, as has been denounced by housing movements and by the people themselves who turn to the institute to try to resolve their cases.
“IHRU doesn’t just have 20 passwords per day, it has 20 passwords in Lisbon and 14 in Porto for PAER [Programa de Apoio Extraordinário à Renda]”, highlighted the minister, adding that the institute issues “167 passwords every day”, to respond to everything within its competence.
“Every month the IHRU serves almost four thousand people”, he highlighted.
Furthermore, “there are inconsistencies” in the PAER.
“There were people, families, receiving income when they should no longer receive income”, he highlighted, praising the socialist government of António Costa for having adopted an ordinance to resolve these cases.
“The inconsistency has to be resolved and only then can you pay,” said Pinto Luz, giving examples of disparities: landlord and tenant IRS “don’t match each other” or people with zero income who have to explain how they pay their rent.
The minister accused Chega of “constantly filling his mouth with justice and rigor” and then criticizing “inconsistencies” being resolved before granting support. “Every other day, every other day, it’s a weather vane”, he said.
On Monday, in reaction to protests organized by the Porta a Porta movement, the IHRU rejected the existence of delays and suspensions in income support.
In a statement, he denied any cut to the PAER, which currently benefits “more than 134,100 tenants”.
However, he acknowledged that there are administrative constraints related to data validation, which affect around 43 thousand beneficiaries.
Porta a Porta organized meetings at IHRU facilities in Lisbon and Porto, to demand a service that responds to requests for income support.
Speaking to Lusa, on October 14, at the end of a hearing in the Assembly of the Republic, the president of the IHRU, António Costa Pereira, admitted that the scenario is “very serious”, recognizing the delay in responding to PAER beneficiaries with their situation unresolved.