The municipality of Lisbon and the implementation of the Special Regime for Co-Participation in the Recovery of Leased Properties (RECRIA – Regime Especial de Comparticipação na Recuperação de Imóveis Arrendados): between structures and agency

Abstract

The literature emphasises the relationship between housing policies and processes of urban decline, noting how certain policies have had undesir able effects on private rental dynamics. The Special Regime for Co-Participation in the Recovery of Rented Properties (RECRIA), implemented between 1988 and 2011, sought to mitigate some of these problems. This article analyses RECRIA based on data collected in interviews and archival work in the municipality of Lisbon. It problematises both a strong centralism and the way in which local actors mobilised their agency to implement the programme through the use of coercive instruments, the debate on which has been relaunched by the national’s current housing policy.