In the Popular Assemblies held by ‘right to housing’ protestors in Lisbon and Porto this evening, votes were taken on whether or not to return to camping in the squares
The post Protest camps to return to the streets of Lisbon and Porto tonight appeared first on Portugal Resident.
The housing crisis was debated in parliament this afternoon after the opposition joined forces to overturn the decision of the president of the Assembly of the Republic who rejected two
The post Precedent created as opposition forces emergency debate on housing crisis appeared first on Portugal Resident.
Housing Rights and Public Policies Association (AHDPP) has explained exactly how the housing crisis is threatening Portugal’s very future. In an interview with Executive Digest, the association warns of the
The post “No one has children at their parents’ home”: association warns of impact of housing crisis on birth rate appeared first on Portugal Resident.
With no-one denying Portugal’s desperate housing crisis, the focus this week is on how to fix it – as fast as humanly possible. After “a sea of people” converged in
The post Can Portugal’s politicians deliver new hope for housing? appeared first on Portugal Resident.
Portugal’s housing shortage is being driven largely by a sharp decline in private construction, according to Economy and Territorial Cohesion Minister Manuel Castro Almeida, who has called on local authorities
The post Is a new construction shortage fueling Portugal’s housing crisis? appeared first on Portugal Resident.
Students and teachers in Greece have mobilized in Athens and Thessaloniki to demand affordable housing, higher wages and greater investment in public education, joining a wave of youth-led protests over rising living costs and housing insecurity across Europe.
RELATED: Meloni Announces Decree Targeting Juvenile Gangs and Violent Street Demonstrations
Tents have been erected in Athens’ Syntagma Square and in Thessaloniki as demonstrators call for fair rents, more university housing and increased funding for public education.
Authorities deployed more than 3,000 police officers in Athens to monitor a demonstration scheduled for Wednesday, organized by students and teachers. The protests come amid similar mobilizations in France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Albania, where young people are challenging housing costs that they say make it increasingly difficult to combine work or study with securing a home.
Students pitch tents near Greek parliament over rising costs
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) October 20, 2026
📍 Students set up tents in Athens’ Syntagma Square, near the Greek parliament
➡️ The protest highlights rising living costs and soaring rents in Greece https://t.co/oWWMU3xUax pic.twitter.com/N8YzeW9lZa
The Greek primary school teachers’ union, DOE, called a 24-hour strike to demand a 20% pay rise, housing assistance for teachers assigned to work in other cities and improvements to school facilities.
Around 20 student associations in Athens joined the mobilization, planning to march alongside teachers. Their demands include decent housing for all university students, particularly those from low-income families who move to other cities to pursue their studies, higher student allowances and more places in public university residences.
Students are also calling for lower electricity and heating fuel costs, highlighting the pressure of energy expenses alongside the cost of accommodation.
The demonstrations reflect broader grievances among young Europeans over housing affordability. Protesters across several countries have pointed to property speculation, tourism-driven pressures on housing and austerity policies imposed by the European Union as factors affecting their ability to secure a home.
Athens Mayor Haris Dukas, a social democrat, expressed support for students and teachers while making clear his opposition to violent protests.
The demonstrations add Greece to a broader wave of Generation Z mobilizations across Europe over housing costs, economic pressures and access to public services, with students and educators pressing for changes to living and working conditions.
Portugal’s president António José Seguro has called for a broad consensus between the PSD/CDS-PP government and opposition parties so that urgent and long-term measures on housing can be adopted “with
The post President calls for “broad consensus” between government and opposition on housing appeared first on Portugal Resident.
Portugal’s Public Security Police (PSP) detained 55 housing protesters this morning for allegedly resisting when officers removed tents from the Lisbon Camp, situated in Praça D. Pedro IV, in Rossio.
The post Police detain 55 housing protestors for disobedience appeared first on Portugal Resident.
The Porto Academic Federation of students (FAP) has called for “dialogue and moderation” to resolve the housing crisis, proposing tax measures and a temporary ban on the purchase of residential
The post Porto students propose temporary ban on non-resident foreigners buying property appeared first on Portugal Resident.
Police dismantled housing protest camps in Lisbon and Porto early on Tuesday morning (October 20), with demonstrators in Porto peacefully complying with orders to leave, while the operation in the
The post Porto protesters leave peacefully as Lisbon sees arrests appeared first on Portugal Resident.
The recommendation was approved at a meeting of employment and social affairs ministers in Luxembourg on Monday, 19 October, and forms part of the European Commission’s wider efforts to address Europe’s housing crisis.
It proposes measures ranging from early intervention for households facing eviction to increased investment in affordable housing, improved access to social services and more coordinated support for people without permanent accommodation.
However, the recommendation is not legally binding. Member States will retain responsibility for deciding which measures to introduce, how they should be financed and the extent to which existing national housing policies should be changed.
According to the Council’s announcement, more than one million people are estimated to experience homelessness across the European Union.
The problem extends beyond people sleeping on streets or using emergency shelters.
The term housing exclusion also encompasses households living in inadequate accommodation, people facing imminent eviction and those unable to secure stable housing because of financial or personal circumstances.
The Council identifies poverty, unemployment, domestic violence, disability, poor health and insufficient affordable housing among the factors contributing to the problem.
Housing costs have also risen considerably faster than incomes in several European countries.
Between 2013 and 2024, nominal house prices increased by more than 60 per cent across the EU. In some Member States, average increases exceeded 220 per cent during the same period.
These developments have placed additional pressure on households with lower incomes, particularly in cities where rental accommodation is increasingly expensive and social housing is limited.
The shortage affects not only unemployed people but also individuals in paid employment whose earnings are insufficient to cover market rents.
A central element of the new recommendation is the introduction or strengthening of national strategies intended to prevent homelessness before people lose their accommodation.
The Council encourages Member States to establish early-warning mechanisms capable of identifying households experiencing serious financial or housing difficulties.
Proposed interventions include debt counselling, emergency rental assistance, mediation between landlords and tenants, and appropriate safeguards against forced eviction.
The emphasis on prevention reflects the potentially substantial social and financial consequences of losing stable accommodation.
Once a person becomes homeless, obtaining employment, maintaining healthcare arrangements and securing permanent accommodation can become considerably more difficult.
The Council also calls for particular attention to children, young people leaving care and people facing domestic abuse.
Member States are encouraged to ensure that children have access to adequate housing and that young people leaving institutional or foster care are not placed at risk of homelessness because appropriate support arrangements are unavailable.
The recommendation promotes a housing-led approach, under which securing suitable and stable accommodation becomes a central element of the response to homelessness.
This differs from policies relying primarily on emergency shelters or temporary accommodation, although such facilities remain necessary for people facing immediate housing difficulties.
Housing-led programmes can include permanent accommodation accompanied by individual support services, depending on the person’s circumstances.
The Council also proposes simplifying access to social and healthcare services through integrated arrangements that allow people to obtain assistance without repeatedly approaching different public authorities.
One suggested model involves providing access to relevant services through a single contact point, with support from social workers, healthcare professionals and other organisations.
However, access to permanent housing ultimately depends on the availability of suitable properties.
The recommendation therefore calls for increased public and private investment in affordable and social housing, renovation of existing accommodation and support for non-profit housing models.
The non-binding character of the recommendation remains one of its principal limitations.
European institutions can coordinate policies, provide guidance and support investment, but national governments and local authorities retain substantial responsibility for housing provision and social welfare arrangements.
The recommendation does not automatically establish a new EU housing entitlement or provide dedicated funding to every Member State.
Its effectiveness will depend on whether governments introduce measures capable of increasing housing supply and reducing the number of people entering homelessness.
The European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless, known as FEANTSA, previously welcomed the Commission’s proposal while identifying shortcomings.
In its assessment of the original proposal, the organisation argued that EU policy should place greater emphasis on permanently ending homelessness rather than primarily managing housing exclusion.
It also questioned the adequacy of funding arrangements and the proposed five-year interval for national progress reporting.
Under the adopted recommendation, Member States are encouraged to provide the European Commission with information on the effectiveness of their national strategies every five years.
The Commission is expected to evaluate national progress and report to the Council five years after the recommendation’s adoption.
The policy follows the European Affordable Housing Plan, presented in December 2025, and the EU’s Anti-Poverty Strategy, introduced in May 2026.
Together, these initiatives seek to expand the Union’s role in coordinating housing policy without transferring national housing responsibilities to Brussels.
The first indication of whether the recommendation will produce measurable results will come from national decisions on social housing investment, eviction prevention and access to permanent accommodation. Without changes to those practical arrangements, the Council’s commitments will remain principally a framework for voluntary cooperation.
Around a hundred tents remain pitched today in Praça D. Pedro IV, in Lisbon, albeit some appear already empty, writes Lusa João Veloso, one of the spokespeople for the Lisbon
The post Lisbon’s ‘right to housing’ encampment “stands strong” appeared first on Portugal Resident.
A report by Público today claims that politicians who have supported (markedly unpopular) changes to Portugal’s rental laws own more than 1,000 properties, with a global value exceeding €55 million.
The post Politicians who support changes to rental law own more than a thousand properties appeared first on Portugal Resident.
Participants in the housing protest camp in Lisbon have approved a call for an Iberian general strike on November 11, as acknowledged in Porto, and agreed to coordinate actions with
The post Lisbon housing protestors to coordinate with Porto counterparts appeared first on Portugal Resident.
Portugal’s Socialist Party (PS) has proposed a three-year package of tax incentives aimed at bringing empty homes onto the market, including exemptions from capital gains tax on property sales worth
The post Socialists propose tax breaks to bring empty homes onto housing market appeared first on Portugal Resident.
With Portugal’s housing crisis now taking centre stage, President of CHEGA, André Ventura, has announced that his party will present an “emergency legislative package” for housing – accepting that it
The post CHEGA leader announces emergency legislative package for housing appeared first on Portugal Resident.
Protesters demanding affordable homes remained camped in central Lisbon and Porto today after yesterday’s demonstrations against rising living costs, with some already planning how to combine their working week with
The post Housing protesters camp out in Lisbon and Porto as living costs fuel anger appeared first on Portugal Resident.
At a point where “a sea of people” has converged in central Porto to kick off today’s protests against the rising cost of living and the country’s desperate housing crisis,
The post President joins calls to fix country’s desperate housing crisis appeared first on Portugal Resident.
Thousands of people are expected to take to the streets across Portugal today (Saturday, October 17) in a nationwide protest against the rising cost of living, with demonstrations planned in
The post Thousands expected at protests across Portugal over cost of living appeared first on Portugal Resident.
Prime Minister Luís Montenegro has condemned what he described as “direct threats” against his home and family after a video emerged showing a protest speaker calling for his address to
The post Portugal PM denounces threats against his home and family at housing protest appeared first on Portugal Resident.
Login