The Municipality of Lagos has approved the Municipal Housing Charter in its latest meeting for Public Consultation
This document, mandated by the Housing Framework Law, goes beyond the existing Local Housing Strategy expanding its time frame, the ELH is also integrating the municipality’s housing policy into various territorial management tools, such as the PDM. Through this integration, it can proactively project the needs for urbanized land and building rehabilitation. As a result, this approach directly addresses the housing challenges faced by families with limited financial means.
Developed in close collaboration between municipal services and academia, the Municipal Housing Charter benefits from specialized technical support provided by the Research Centre for Architecture, Urbanism, and Design at the University of Lisbon’s Faculty of Architecture. The proposal presents a 12-year mission and vision (2024–2035) grounded in comprehensive foundational studies and diagnostic data, which underscore the area’s strong appeal for population settlement and the significant, varied housing needs.
Projections indicate that about 3,000 families will face housing insecurity in 2024, doubling to 6,000 by 2035 due to job growth and the area’s appeal. The municipality aims to expand its public housing stock from 1.4% to 8% by 2035 through proactive housing policy measures.
Municipality and private urban development
The municipality is simultaneously encouraging private urban development by revising the PDM and directly engaging with developers. This partnership activates legal mechanisms to incentivize private stakeholders to help resolve a significant issue affecting the municipality’s economic and social landscape.
The action plan aims to meet 75% of projected housing needs and fully address the most urgent cases by 2035, requiring an estimated investment of €800 million.
Notably, to meet the population’s needs, the municipality has been on a proactive path since 2018, starting with the approval of the Municipal Housing Program 2018-2021, which identified needs and planned interventions in the sector.
Following this, in 2021, the Local Housing Strategy for Lagos was approved to access financial support from the 1st Right – Housing Access Support Program, forecasting an investment of approximately €18 million for various actions, including the construction of 153 housing units, currently underway.
Municipality updated the Local Housing Strategy
In 2024, addressing increasing demands, the municipality updated the Local Housing Strategy, approving a new version that aims to build 260 housing units under the 1st Right program, along with seven additional units in a cohousing structure. Investment figures were adjusted to align with current construction market prices, increasing from €18 million to €48 million. A significant advancement included the recent acquisition of two plots in Caliças for €9.4 million, where a housing program is set to deliver up to 600 units, as well as essential facilities and services.
The Municipal Housing Charter will now enter a 30-day public consultation phase to gather input from parish councils, following its publication in the Diário da República, before advancing to the Municipal Assembly for approval.