Day 8

We watched the documentary “Es.Col.A da Fontinha”, which shows the occupation of a vacant school in Porto by an activist group for social and didactic activities that was embraced by the local community and evicted by the authorities. After the film, we discussed the theme of “occupation” with José Soeiro, a sociologist who was also a leftist candidate for the Mayor of Porto and Carlos Moreira, a designer and member of the association “Fora da Porta”.

The discussion was rich and lively, with the themes being approached from different perspectives. We noted the need for emergency housing centres in Porto or other models for temporary inhabitation that can offer dignity to residents. It was also mentioned that the city council must make its inventory of properties available to the public. There was a big debate about the value of conflict and about the paradoxical relationship between occupying and negotiating with authorities. If occupation serves to determine the terms of negotiation a priori, there is a moment of dialogue that should be aimed and honoured by both parties – occupants and authorities. The discussion then geared towards the possibility of manipulating legislation to encourage private landlords to lend their buildings to those in need of them, the potential incentives for landlords – such as the rehabilitation of the buildings but also the protection and increased value offered by occupation, and alternative current models such as bailment contracts. José Soeiro criticized the Country’s housing policy, which has transformed Portugal into a country of property owners, instead of tenants, and the social implications of such model. He proposed a system where the city council would provisionally take buildings from private owners, refurbish them and have them rented at low cost for enough time as to cover the refurbishment expenses, then return it to the owners. This model would benefit all parties – the city by offering more housing and the proprietor by refurbishing their property at no cost. We talked about international models such as Camelot, an international property management services provide with a growing network of offices in Europe (United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Ireland, France and Germany). Their live-in guardian scheme provides housing at symbolic rent in exchange for protection of the properties of their clients. Their website, which addresses property owners, reads: “Vacant property is an easy target for vandals, squatters and thieves who present a very real threat to your investment as well as holding up any plans you may have for the property. In response, Camelot offer the pro-active Live-in Guardian solution that vastly reduces these risks for a fraction of the cost of traditional security. While Guardians are in residence, the property is secured; reducing risk and eliminating any delay in response to crime and maintenance issues on site. Live-in Guardians are not tenants, they are residing in your vacant property as a security solution and therefore require just 3 weeks notice before your property can be handed back for its primary use. The service provides clients with the peace of mind that the property is safe, secure and retaining its value while vacant.”