Extraordinary Rent Support Scheme: Administrative Practices and Legal Framework Demand Urgent Revision
The Ombudsman has sent an official letter to the Secretary of State for Housing, highlighting serious irregularities in both the framework and the implementation of the extraordinary rent support scheme, and calling for its urgent revision. This initiative follows a significant volume of complaints revealing systemic failures, some of which had already been flagged in the last two annual reports submitted to Parliament.
Since the scheme came into effect, established by Decree-Law No. 20-B/2023 and later revised by Decree-Law No. 43/2024, complaints have pointed to recurring and persistent irregularities that undermine beneficiaries’ rights and the effectiveness of the support itself. In 2025, the number of complaints regarding the suspension and reduction of benefits increased significantly.
The Ombudsman concluded, on the one hand, that the legal framework was designed without due regard for the fundamental rights and guarantees of citizens; and, on the other, that the entities responsible – the Institute for Housing and Urban Rehabilitation (IHRU), the Tax and Customs Authority (AT), and the Social Security Institute (ISS) – have shown insufficient capacity for coordination and response.
Fundamental rights fully enshrined in law have been disregarded within the scope of this support, notably the right to information, the right to be notified of decisions, the right to reasoned administrative acts, and the right to prior hearing.
The IT platforms in use are fragile and unfit for purpose, contributing to severe delays and difficulties in accessing information.
Citizens covered by this support – which was announced as automatic – have been repeatedly redirected from service to service, without being able to obtain the information they need.
Between May 2023 and July 2025, the Ombudsman received around one thousand requests related to this rent support scheme. In many cases, citizens claimed that their social and economic situation actually worsened due to State failures, while also expressing deep mistrust in a legal measure intended to help them.
Complaints received in 2025 reveal that, despite the extreme delays before payments began, when the support is finally granted, only a single monthly installment is paid, with no indication of when the owed retroactive amounts will be delivered.
Given the seriousness of the irregularities and the continuation of the scheme until 2028, the Ombudsman stresses the urgent need to revise the extraordinary rent support program, in order to ensure a system that is fairer, more transparent, efficient, and subject to oversight, while also ensuring a better use of public resources.
You can read the letter sent to the Secretary of State for Housing here [in Portuguese only].
