Portugal housing protests swell outside parliament as police batons draw scrutiny

Several thousand gather at parliament

Several thousand people gathered outside the Republican Assembly in Lisbon on Tuesday, 27 October, while lawmakers debated the centre-right government's spending plans for 2027. Rally organisers said several thousand people packed the area, and police did not give a crowd estimate. The demonstrators, apparently mostly in their 20s and 30s, chanted, sang and banged drums outside the building. Protesters said they would keep marching until the government resigns as a body, and they urged unions to join a strike called in Spain for 11 November. Demonstrations were also held in other major Portuguese cities, and people were asked to take part in marches planned nationwide for 14 November.

Police clearances and injuries

Tensions rose after police dismantled tent camps set up by housing activists in Lisbon and Porto on Sunday, 25 October. Police reported 11 minor injuries across both operations, including three officers, while the activist group Casa para Viver said 60 people were hurt. In the days before, police had broken up similar protests in the capital's main downtown squares using batons and dogs. Portugal's internal affairs watchdog, the IGAI, opened an inquiry into the operations, and prosecutors started a separate investigation into officers' conduct. Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, Prime Minister Luis Montenegro defended the officers' actions as consistent with "necessity, proportionality and adequacy".

Housing costs and rents

The grievance rests on several official figures. An EU report published at the close of 2025 put the average rise in housing costs across Europe at 60.5% between 2015 and 2025, while Portugal's rise over the same period reached 147%, the third highest after Hungary and Lithuania. Housing prices rose by almost 20% between the first quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, according to the National Statistics Institute, a government agency. The government says rents have climbed 68% since 2020. Foreign buyers and investment funds have also pushed prices up, and tourism has turned many city-centre apartments into short-term rentals.

EU average60.5%

Portugal147%

EU average

60.5 %

Portugal

147 %

Data from the article text

Voices from the square

Erica Rodrigues, a 39-year-old actress, said the crisis weighs on younger and older generations alike and aimed her words at the government.

“My congratulations to this government for the clown show it has put on in recent times. It has done a terrible job.”

Gabriel Pais, 30, put the demand plainly, noting that one-bedroom flats in Lisbon routinely cost 1,500 euros a month in a country where the minimum monthly wage is 920 euros before tax.

“We're fighting for the right to have a roof over our heads.”

Hugo Silva, a 49-year-old assistant salesman, said he felt outrage and wanted to defend his rights. Joao Martins, 39, who is unemployed, described protesters as "fighting for decent and affordable housing for everyone" and also demonstrating for the right to protest. Laura Andre, a 20-year-old student in Lisbon, lives with her parents and wants a home and a future.

Government response and next steps

The minority centre-right government faces demands to drop a draft law that would make evictions faster and lift limits on rents for new contracts. That bill passed a first reading after the far-right Chega party abstained. President António José Seguro, whose office is largely ceremonial, has called a Council of State, an advisory body, to meet in the week of 2 November 2026 on the protests. The government has cut taxes on new construction, restricted short-term rentals and pledged 145,000 new homes, though it concedes the effects will not be immediate. The next dates are the Spanish strike on 11 November and nationwide marches on 14 November.