Fale Conosco
- Rua Pouso Alegre, 21
- Ipiranga, São Paulo
- CEP: 04261-030
- Fone: (11)2065-7022
Our home is our haven. It's where we raise children, receive friends, spend the happiest hours of the day. A house is everyone’s right, but not everyone can afford to buy or build his or her own, even if they fight for this during their entire lifetime. Lula created the My House, My Life program for these Brazilians. It provides funding to families with gross incomes of up to R$ 5,000. The priority is for those earning up to R$ 1,600 monthly, who pay 5% of their income for the funding over ten years.
In the up to R$ 3,275 monthly bracket, the subsidy is up to R$ 25,000, inversely proportional to income. For families with income up to R$ 5,000 a month, the benefit is offered through a reduction in the home financing interest rate, ranging from 5% to 7.16%, depending on family income.
A survey conducted by the Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA) reveals that the monthly loan installment payment in the My House, My Life program is lower than the beneficiaries pay for monthly electricity, water, gas and condominium services. These expenditures, according to IPEA, total an average of R$ 105.35, whereas the loan installment payment for beneficiaries with incomes from zero to R$ 1,600 is about R$ 64.96. The numbers prove the program is, in fact, accessible to the population’s poorest strata.
Do you remember the old truism: "my neighbor's garden is always more beautiful than mine?" Well, that’s not the case in the My House, My Life program. Each family now claims its house is the most beautiful in the entire neighborhood. Plus, on a scale of 0 to 10, the program’s beneficiaries awarded an 8.8 score for the item "satisfaction with the dwelling" and 8.6 for "improved quality of life." Ipea conducted the survey using a sample of 7,620 residences located in 187 municipalities.
Another important innovation is My House, My Life - Entities, created with the goal of enabling families to organize themselves into cooperatives, private nonprofit organizations and urban associations to act as promoters/organizers of social interest housing programs, which strengthens citizenship practices. In this mode, popular organizations reinforce the education and grassroots organization processes, just as important as housing construction per se.
Aimed at families with gross monthly income of up to R$ 1,600, through May 2014 My House, My Life - Entities had contracted 43,175 houses in all regions of Brazil, of which 3,000 already have been delivered.
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• Housing ownership inequality declines and residential satisfaction rises
Because one-third of the properties contracted for through My House, My Life are apartments, condominium life is a novelty for most beneficiaries and, therefore, the program orients residents about how to set up a building condominium and organize its accounts.
"I was convinced it was necessary to finish my term of office signing the largest number of housing contracts ever in the history of this country, funded by the Caixa Econômica Federal and subsidized by the government of the Republic ... 1.3 million homes contracted (in 2010) ... And we told the naysayers to never dare doubt the construction capacity for building the homes of Brazilian workers, of the Caixa Econômica Federal and the Brazilian government, which is determined to solve the problem of a chronic housing shortage in this country."
"One (needs) to recognize that the Brazilian State, not only the government, the Brazilian State has an obligation to a certain strata of the population, to contribute so that it has access to home ownership. Hence, that is why this is the program for which the federal government spends the most on subsidies. We, in fact, subsidize home ownership for the poor population of this country. And it's not a matter of charity, it's not about giving, it is not a gift. It is an obligation and, therefore, part of the State, and is a right of the citizens, of the population. That is the fundamental difference of this program, it was made for citizens with full rights and right to public money."
Francisco Galdino, wheelchair, Sobradinho (DF)
"At first I was a bit disbelieving because I already had been through so much ... After I received the house, life changed. Today, have access to a bathroom, if I want to got out, I have somewhere to walk to, the street has a sidewalk. Today, my life is greatly changed."
Bianca Andrea da Silva Firmino, Valparaíso de Goiás (GO)
“We have the pleasure of giving them a roof over their heads, of knowing our children can grow up in peace…The pleasure of having a home is very satisfying."
Rosimery Ferreira, Várzea Grande (MT)
“What was I missing? A firm piece of ground to be able to say to myself: this is my place. Here I’ll get to see my grandson grow. It is the realization of any family."
Márcia Cristina Nunes, Rio de Janeiro (RJ)
"It's just a joy. For me, for my daughter, for my husband. She always dreamed of having her own room. I’m super happy. It a feeling like no other."
Denise Helena de Almeida, Ananindeua (PA)
"You know when you wake up and you say: Wow, I'm where I belong. You know what it’s like to feel safe. It’s totally different. It’s a dream come true...."