Real Estate Investment and Management Companies (SIGI) are a new type of real estate investment company, with the same legal provisions as those applied to public limited companies, thus benefiting from a tax-neutral regime, i.e. operating by national law in force.
This scheme has been available since February 1, the date on which Decree-Law no. 19/2019 of January 28 came into force. However, this Tuesday, July 16, the final legal framework was approved in Parliament, with only the final global vote, which will be on Friday (July 19).
The way the Law was originally written was quite broad and equivocal, and some would understand that it opened the door for these societies to invest not only in leasing but also in property development, construction, or rehabilitation.
To address the problems described above, an amendment to the corporate purpose was approved in Parliament which provides that the primary function of SIGI is “the acquisition of property rights, surface rights or other rights with equivalent content in real estate. , for lease, covering atypical contractual forms that include the rendering of services necessary for the use of the property ”. “Atypical contract forms” are for example cleaning, concierge, or maintenance services that sometimes accompany office leasing.
It was further clarified that SIGI while having the same tax regime as investment funds, benefits from the same tax exemptions “only when the properties have been held for lease or other atypical contractual forms that include services required for the use of the property. for at least three years. ” In both changes, the goal is to focus SIGI on leasing activities (not necessarily housing).
