Summary:
Constitutional Court rejects Lisbon housing referendum due to procedural flaws.
MRH proposal aimed to cancel local housing registrations in residential properties.
Key issues identified included lack of necessary signatures and missing mayor's opinion.
Judges ruled the referendum attempt violated local governance laws.
Decision deemed 'insanable,' preventing any further consideration of the referendum.
Portugal's Constitutional Court has rejected a referendum proposal in Lisbon concerning local housing regulations. This decision, reported by the newspaper Público, highlights significant procedural flaws and substantive issues surrounding the proposed questions. The Movimento Referendo pela Habitação (MRH) had aimed to ask residents whether they supported changes to the Municipal Regulations that would effectively cancel local housing registrations for properties designated for residential use.**
Key Reasons for Rejection
The court stated that it did not find the legality of the local referendum, initiated by popular demand and approved by the Lisbon Municipal Assembly on December 3, 2024. The judges unanimously agreed, though two issued separate opinions.
- Procedural Errors: The court identified several procedural mistakes, including the absence of the necessary 5,000 signatures from registered voters in Lisbon.
- Lack of Representation: There was no indication on the signature sheets regarding the identification of representatives, making it impossible to verify if each subscriber intended to be represented by the indicated representatives.
- Missing Mayor's Opinion: The absence of a formal opinion from Carlos Moeda, the Mayor of Lisbon, was also noted as a critical oversight.
Substantive Issues
The court further elaborated that the referendum aimed to amend the Municipal Regulations on Local Housing in such a way that would effectively nullify the current legal framework governing local housing establishments (RJEEAL). The judges emphasized that this would render the RJEEAL practically inapplicable in Lisbon, violating local governance laws.
In their ruling, the judges highlighted that the attempt to prohibit local housing activities through a referendum was misguided, as legislative pathways have already been established since 2018 to restrict such activities without outright prohibition.
The court deemed the flaws in the referendum proposal as “insanable,” making it unnecessary to consider further issues, thus preventing the referendum's progression.
For more details, the full decision is available on the Constitutional Court's website.
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