LISBON — Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of more than 30 towns and cities in Portugal on Saturday to protest against surging rental prices, demanding urgent government action to address the country's worsening housing crisis. It was the biggest national demonstration since the social movement began weeks ago.
Organised by the Casa Para Viver (A Home to Live In) platform, demonstrations took place under the slogan “They will not steal our right to a home,” with protests in Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Portimao, Coimbra, Braga and other locations. Casa Para Viver brings together approximately 100 housing associations and grassroots organisations.
Participants, ranging from teenagers to retired people, walked behind large banners, with the Lisbon march punctuated by drums, music and chanting. Some protesters lay down on the street during the march in the capital. Protesters called for caps to be placed on rent increases, greater legal protection for tenants against eviction, and more affordable housing. They also demanded the reversal of proposed changes to rental legislation and tighter regulation on rental contracts, short-term tourist accommodation and vacant properties.
The protests come after parliament approved the government's proposed changes to provide greater flexibility in rental contracts and accelerate eviction procedures. Housing campaigners warned the changes could weaken tenant protections amid rising rents and limited housing availability.
One woman on a protest march in Lisbon told Al Jazeera that she was a business owner, “and I can't afford a house.” “I can't say much more than this. I'm forty-years-old, I can't go to a bank and just buy a house with my money,” she added. Another woman said she had joined the march to protest “for a better life, for all of us, not just the young people, all of us, because we deserve to have a home.”
One man told Al Jazeera “we have been suffering this for the last three or four years, and I have many friends and family in this situation, they had to move because they cannot afford the rent. If you earn, for example, a thousand euros, and you have to pay rent of six hundred, seven hundred, then you cannot live, it's impossible.”
House prices in Portugal have risen much faster than incomes in recent years, statistics show. Between 2015 and 2025, Portugal posted the biggest jump in the European Union in the home price-to-income ratio, with an increase of 61 percent, followed by the Netherlands with 34 percent, the EU statistical office Eurostat said last week.
There is no indication that the rise in housing costs is slowing. Between the first quarter of last year and the first quarter of 2026, property prices rose by almost 20 percent, the National Statistics Institute, a government agency, said last month. Rental prices, too, have climbed significantly, recording a 68 percent increase since 2020, according to the government. Much of this jump in real estate costs has been fuelled by foreign buyers and investment funds, as the country's relaxed climate near the ocean has attracted many remote workers and retirees.
The government has responded to the protests by lowering taxes on new construction, restricting short-term rentals, and promising to build 145,000 new homes, but it acknowledged that the effects will not be immediate. Prime Minister Luis Montenegro has been urged by Casa Para Viver representatives to engage directly with them, and Portuguese President Antonio Jose Seguro convened a Council of State, an advisory body, to discuss the protests earlier this month and met Friday with some of the protesters.
The protests in Portugal in recent weeks took their cue from demonstrations in neighbouring Spain last month over similar issues around housing and forced evictions. A wave of youth-led protests has swept Europe in the latter half of this year, with demonstrators across the continent denouncing rising prices and a lack of future prospects. Organisers have already announced another nationwide demonstration for Dec. 12.
