A/HRC/34/51/Add.2 rehabilitation and the transformation of buildings into social facilities in social housing neighbourhoods, and financial support to households for rehousing in the event of natural disaster or emergency situations (see E/C.12/PRT/4, para. 202). The Special Rapporteur was informed that the programme had received for 2017 only a small budget allocation of 5.5 million euros – which the Government admits is low – after several years without funding. It is not clear whether the resources allocated under the programme will be sufficient to address the needs identified. 34. The Special Rehousing Programme (Programa Especial de Realojamento, or PER)16 targeted people in the metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto living in “non-conventional” dwellings. Launched in 1993, the programme provided financial support for construction, acquisition and rental. Grants were received by municipalities, municipal public enterprises, private social security institutions and housing or construction cooperatives. The programme was based on the resettlement needs identified in a universal survey conducted between 1993 and 1995. According to IHRU, 48,416 households were identified in the survey, of which 34,494 were resettled under the programme, while 10,621 found their own housing solutions. Of the housing units built under the programme, 22,672 are located in the Lisbon metropolitan area and 11,822 in the Porto metropolitan area. Most resettlement was concentrated on the outskirts of city centres, resulting in the relative isolation of these communities, far from other services and livelihood opportunities. Little resettlement has been witnessed in the past 20 years, which has meant that those who were not included in the survey continue to live in “non-conventional” dwellings and are at imminent risk of eviction or house demolition. IHRU estimates that 3,301 families remain in need of resettlement. New immigrants to Portugal from its former colonies often have no alternative but to live in these areas. 35. About 57 per cent of the population between 18 and 34 years of age continue to live with their parents, mostly owing to unemployment, low wages and the temporary nature of many work contracts. The Porta 65 Jovem programme provides financial support for rental accommodation for people up to the age of 30 years. Under the programme, private landlords receive a rental supplement for a period of up to three years, assigned monthly. 36. In order to stimulate the urban rental market, and as part of the memorandum of understanding, the New Urban Rental Regime (Novo Regime de Arrendamento Urbano) was introduced in August 2012. The law governing the initiative was adopted with the aim of modernizing what was perceived as a rigid rental market that had emerged over several decades. The new regime comprised a number of changes, including the elimination of provisions for a mandatory 5-year minimum duration of fixed-term agreements; reduction of the minimum period of notice for the termination of an agreement from five to two years; the liberalization of rent increases (introduced over a five-year period, ending in 2017), regardless of previous agreements, except in the case of persons older than 65 years or persons with a degree of disability in excess of 60 per cent. 37. The new rental regime included a “fast-track” eviction procedure, based on the online National Rental Counter (Balcão Nacional de Arrendamento, or BNA), administered by the Ministry of Justice. The procedure is an extrajudicial mechanism, although it may, under certain circumstances, be transferred to the courts.17 38. Some concerns have been raised about the New Urban Rental Regime, in particular with regard to the ease with which evictions can be carried out. If tenants do not dispute the 16 17 Decree-law no. 163/93 of 7 May 1993, amended by decree-law no. 271/2003 of 28 October 2003. See Décio Correia and Nelson Santos, Tenancy Law and Housing Policy in Multi-level Europe, National Report for Portugal, 2015, p. 87. 9