Protests in Portugal over housing crisis: social emergency

Published 6:34 AM EDT, Sun April 2, 2023

Pedro Nunes/Reuters

According to the data, rents in Portugal's capital, Lisbon, have risen 65% since 2015 and real estate prices have jumped 137%.

Lisbon Reuters - Thousands of people took to the streets in Lisbon and other Portuguese cities on Saturday to protest against soaring rents and housing costs amid high inflation that is making life even harder.

"Today we have a huge housing crisis," said Rita Silva of the housing organization group Habita at a protest in Lisbon. "It's a social emergency."

Portugal is one of the poorest countries in Western Europe, according to government figures, with more than 50% of workers earning less than 1,000 euros ($1084) a month last year. The minimum monthly wage is 760 euros ($826).

Rents in Lisbon, a popular destination for tourists, have risen 65% since 2015, while sales prices have risen 137% over the period, data from Confidencial Imobiliario, a company that collects data on the housing market, showed. Rents rose 37% last year, more than in Barcelona or Paris, according to Casafari, another real estate company.

It is especially difficult for young people.

Thousands of people demonstrated for the right to fair and affordable housing and against real estate speculation in Portugal's northwestern city of Porto on Saturday. The Socialist government announced a housing package last month that ended the controversial Golden Visa program and banned new licenses for Airbnb properties, among other measures, but critics say it is not enough to bring down prices in the short term.

At a protest organized by the Home to Live movement and other groups, illustrator Diogo Guerra, 35, said he hears stories every day about people struggling with affordable housing. "People who are working but are homeless, people are being evicted because their homes are being converted to short-term housing (for tourists)," he said.

Low wages and high rents make Lisbon the third most uninhabitable city to live in, according to a study by insurance brokers CIA Landlords. Portugal's current inflation rate is as high as 8.2%, which only exacerbates the problem.

"With my salary, which is higher than the average salary in Lisbon, I can't afford to rent an apartment because it's too expensive," said Nunzio Renzi, a sales representative from Italy who lives in the capital.