It’s the last moments The real estate boom in Portugal. “Government’s rent cap leads to wave of evictions”And the Title ad in the weekly espresso, released on Friday, November 4. A result that may not have been expected Socialist Executive Director Antonio CostaSince the entry into force of a decree limiting the increase in rents to 2% when updating lease contracts signed before 1Verse January 2022.
The problem: Many landlords have since decided to break and renew their leases, in order to escape that ceiling. They can therefore demand higher rents from tenants who, for many, can no longer keep up with the financial situation in a country where inflation has peaked and where poverty increased last year within the European Union. Vasco Brasão, of the housing rights association Rés do Chão, attests to these difficulties:
“In Lisbon, 800 families have had their contracts renewed and are therefore at risk. People will end up being evicted after two months of unpaid rent.”
“financialization of real estate”
Because from then on, the owners can apply for forced eviction and recovery with the courts. These measures are also on the rise, according to data from the Ministry of Justice: during the first quarter, there were 185, compared to 37 in 2021 and 27 in 2020.
Luis Mendez, a housing researcher and president of the Lisbon Tenants Association, reports that she is approached every day by about fifteen people who can no longer pay rent due to lease renewals. because of “financialization of real estate”Academic alerts in columnsespresso :
“We are witnessing a new wave of evictions, which may affect thousands of families across the country.”
In just five years, as a reminder, rents have increased by 40% in Portugal. The increase is not without consequences for the Portuguese. To measure the extent of expulsions, Luis Mendes, who is unable to rely on official data, uses other indicators. By comparing the 2021 census with the 2011 census, the researcher notes that “Half of Lisbon’s neighborhoods have lost their population – in some cases more than 20%”.
