The President of the Republic stated on Friday 6 November 2026 that "the Portuguese people demand results" regarding housing, following the meetings held between political parties and the Government on Thursday 5 November 2026.
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The President has called individual meetings with party leaders for 29 October and scheduled a Council of State meeting on social cohesion for 2 November. He is pressing political parties to agree on both urgent measures and long-term housing policies, with negotiations expected to take place following the upcoming parliamentary debate on the State Budget.
The housing protest movement, which began on 10 October, has reached its one-month mark, resulting in public debate and government-level meetings on housing policies. Police crackdowns on tents in Porto and Lisbon, based on a 1974 decree-law, have been challenged by a ruling from the Administrative Court of Lisbon.
The Portuguese Sociological Association (APS) states that the ongoing housing crisis is driven by political decisions rather than being inevitable. Citing data from 2015 to 2025, the association highlights that housing prices in Portugal increased by 180% during this period, exacerbated by the fact that only 69% of homes are used as permanent residences, a figure that drops to 50% in the Algarve due to tourism and investment usage.