EIB provides funding for 12,000 affordable rental homes

An agreement signed by the government and the European Investment Bank (EIB) on Thursday provides for a credit line to support the construction and renovation of 12,000 affordable rental homes for middle-class families.

The formalisation of the first tranche, in the order of €450 million — out of a total credit line financing of €1.34 billion — was signed at the prime minister’s official residence in Lisbon on Thursday.

According to the press release, the credit line agreed by the government and the EIB will give municipalities a longer period of time, until 2030, to present housing solutions (a defined target which, under the Recovery and Resilience Plan, ended in June 2026), providing “more favourable conditions, with lower interest rates and more generous grace periods”.

In the document, the government also states that “an EIB financing line is also being worked on” to support the implementation of the Support Programme for Access to Housing – 1st Right.

At the end of the signing of the agreement, speaking without questions from journalists, the infrastructure and housing minister, Miguel Pinto Luz, thanked the EIB for the role it has played in Portugal’s development.

The EIB’s vice-president, Ioannis Tsakiris, described the agreement as “historic” and a “declaration of confidence” by the European Union in Portugal.

The agreement is “a milestone for Portugal and Europe”, because “housing is not a peripheral issue, it’s central”, he emphasised.

“Affordable housing means stability for families, opportunities for young people and justice for communities, but it also means competitiveness for our economies and progress on climate goals. When workers can’t live close to their jobs, when students can’t find a place to study, when families can’t pay their energy bills, we all lose, Europe is losing”, he pointed out.