Thousands protest in Portugal against rising house prices

Thousands of people have protested in cities across Portugal against unaffordable house prices and rising rental costs, with many saying they have been priced out of the housing market.

Demonstrators marched with banners bearing slogans like, “Our neighbourhoods are not your business” and “I have to choose between paying for a house or eating”.

The housing crisis has its roots in a chronic shortage of affordable and social housing, a situation worsened by wealthy foreigners moving to Portugal on the promise of tax breaks.

The tourism boom has also led to a surge in short-term holiday rentals which have put further pressure on the housing market for locals.

“The housing problem is a problem that has been going on for many years in our country and is now reaching a situation that is beyond unbearable,” said one protester in Porto.

Portugal’s centre-right coalition government, led by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro and made up of the Social Democratic Party and the CDS-People’s Party, announced a €2 billion package to build 33,000 homes by by 2030, but many protesters are doubtful they will be able to deliver.

“Tell the government that it is necessary to take measures to lower the price of housing and to put the lives of those who live and work in our country first and need a roof so that it can happen with quality,” said Andre Escoval from the right to housing movement, Porta a Porta.

In their online mission statement, Porta a Porta says Portugal’s housing crisis isn’t temporary, but rather “chronic and structural”.

Between 2020 and 2021, house prices in Portugal shot up by 157%.

From 2015 to 2021, rents jumped by 112%, according to the European Union’s statistics agency Eurostat.

Portugal is one of Western Europe’s poorest countries and has long pursued investment on the back of a low-wage economy.

Just over half of Portuguese workers earned less than €1,000 per month, according to Labour Ministry statistics for 2022.