Tens of thousands march in latest Portugal housing protests

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The housing crisis, which many say puts buying or renting a home beyond their reach, has fuelled weeks of demonstrations.

Some activists have camped in central squares in Lisbon and Porto, the country’s two largest cities.

Riot police with dogs have dispersed some protests, drawing accusations of heavy-handed tactics.

The demonstrations took inspiration from protests that began in neighbouring Spain last month over similar housing concerns and mirror a widespread movement across Europe through this autumn.

Protesters ranging from teenagers to retirees marched under the slogan: “We won’t let them steal our right to housing.”

Drums, music and chants accompanied the Lisbon march as protesters carried large banners and flags.

Protester Susana Pacheco, a 35-year-old data analyst who works part-time as an astrologer to help pay her mortgage, said she worried about whether her younger sister could afford to move out of their parents’ home.

“I’m really worried about young people,” she said.

Ana Encarnacao, 42, said “things have become intolerable,” citing rising living costs and the widening gap between rich and poor.

Activists are demanding a limit on rent increases, greater legal protection for tenants against eviction and more affordable housing.

House prices in Portugal have risen much faster than incomes, statistics show.

Between 2015 and 2025, Portugal posted the biggest jump in the European Union in the home price-to-income ratio, an increase of 61 per cent, followed by the Netherlands at 34 per cent, the EU statistical office Eurostat said last week.

Between the first quarter of last year and the first quarter of 2026, housing prices rose by almost 20 per cent, a government agency said last month.

Rental prices have also climbed significantly, recording a 68 per cent increase since 2020.

The government has responded with measures such as lowering taxes on new construction, restricting short-term rentals and promising to build 145,000 new homes.

But it acknowledged that the effects would not be immediate.

Portuguese President Antonio Jose Seguro, whose role is mostly ceremonial but who wields political influence, convened advisory body the Council of State to discuss the protests earlier this month and met with some of the protesters on Friday.

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