According to a statement from the IPG sent to the Lusa agency, "the number of families experiencing situations of severe housing shortage in the Beiras and Serra da Estrela region exceeds 30 percent", according to studies carried out by researchers participating in projects promoted at the Unit Research Institute for the Interior Development of that higher education institution.

"There are many families who live in precarious housing in the Beiras region", says the IPG.

The IPG, together with the City Councils of the region of influence, is making "a diagnosis of the way people live and is creating housing solutions".

"The number of people living in precarious situations is greater than we imagined", says IPG president Joaquim Brigas.

The current project identifies households and citizens living in housing conditions considered unworthy in a given region and, therefore, intends to find alternatives to eliminate problems such as accessibility, habitability, sanitation and thermal comfort.

"With these measures, we make housing possible as a right and guarantee better conditions to those who cannot afford it", says the official.

The IPG "helps to meet the basic needs of the population and revitalize low-density territories".

"We are outlining strategies in our area of ??influence through a door-to-door visit to families living in both rural and urban areas", explains Joaquim Brigas.

The document intends to design the Local Housing Strategy (ELH) for a municipality in Portugal and will make it possible to prepare an application for the "1º Direito" programme, a measure of public support for the promotion of housing solutions for citizens and households living in conditions of financial need, among other support programmes.

The "1st Law" is part of a series of other programmes created by the National Housing Strategy, whose main objective was to facilitate the access of Portuguese families to housing through urban rehabilitation, housing leasing and requalification of housing, recalls the IPG.

The programmes related to housing, the changes felt and the goals for the future will be discussed at the conference "New Generation of Housing Policies", to be held on 11 February, at 2:30pm, in the IPG auditorium.

The session will have as speaker Ana Cruz, director of Northern Management of the Institute of Housing and Urban Rehabilitation.