This Wednesday, Parliament approved a proposal from the PSD and CDS-PP to move forward with public-private partnership contracts for the construction of university residences, as part of the specialised votes on the 2025 State Budget (OE2025).
‘The Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation promotes, through higher education institutions, the signing of public-private partnership (PPP) contracts for the construction of new residences with developers and private entities, with the aim of making accommodation available at affordable prices for higher education students,’ says the proposal.
According to the proposal, the prices of student accommodation in PPP residences follow the price scales for student accommodation in public residences, but the residences can also be used as tourist accommodation outside of the academic year. The financial compensation paid by public bodies should be calculated by discounting the estimated potential revenue from this dual use.
In the explanatory note, the PSD and CDS-PP describe the measure as a ‘supplementary solution’ to the National Plan for Accommodation in Higher Education (PNAES) to the agreements signed under the ‘Student Accommodation Now’ plan, for the provision of 709 lodgings in youth hostels and INATEL units.
‘The aim of this proposal is to strengthen the installed capacity of student accommodation, take pressure off the rental market, particularly in urban centres, and provide more affordable options for the more than 110,000 displaced students,’ they add.
In the context of student accommodation, the point of a Livre proposal was also approved, which determines the identification of public property that can be adapted and converted into student residences, both temporary and permanent.