Thousands protest in Portugal over surging house prices and rents

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By Patricia Vicente Rua and Miguel Pereira

LISBON (Reuters) – Thousands of people took to the streets of Lisbon and other cities across Portugal on Saturday to protest against soaring rents and house prices, as frustration mounts over a crisis that has priced many out of the housing market.

Demonstrators carried posters showing slogans such as “I wanted to move out of my parents’ house, but the rent wouldn’t let me” and chanting “homes are to live (in), not to speculate.”

Rita Silva of the Fair Life movement, which organised the protest, told Reuters: “The situation hasn’t improved one bit in the last two years.”

The housing crisis in Portugal is rooted in a chronic shortage of affordable housing, aggravated by the arrival of wealthy foreigners lured by residency rights and tax breaks. A tourism boom has also led to a surge in short-term holiday lets, further squeezing the housing market.

Portugal’s centre-right government has announced a spending package worth 2 billion euros ($2.23 billion) aiming to build around 33,000 homes by 2030, but the protesters are wary.

“Successive governments come up with various policies and packages of measures, but what we see is that the housing situation continues to worsen,” Silva said.

($1 = 0.8958 euros)