Seguro hears housing experts at Belém and will take their three priorities to the parties

Meeting at Belém Palace

President António José Seguro received housing experts at the Palácio de Belém on Wednesday, 28 October 2026. According to a note the Presidency published that afternoon on its official website, he met academics, tenant and owner associations, construction representatives, developers and investors, professional bodies, public housing associations and local government representatives. Observador reports that the meeting began at ten in the morning and that 18 people were invited, ranging from property developers to tenants. The Presidency did not release an attendee list, but published photographs from which Observador identified 15 of the 18 participants with help from some of those present.

Three priorities instead of a diagnosis

Seguro opened the session by saying the diagnosis had already been made, and asked each participant to name three priorities for solving the housing problem. He said he would take those priorities to the parties. According to several sources present, the most consensual proposals were increasing construction, which could be industrial, bringing vacant dwellings onto the market, and simplifying administrative procedures. Hugo Santos Ferreira, president of APPII (Portuguese Association of Property Developers and Investors), and its CEO Manuel Maria Gonçalves attended for the developers. Antonio Carlos Rodrigues, CEO of Grupo Casais and vice-president of AICCOPN, represented the builders. Avelino Oliveira, bastonário of the Order of Architects, and Bento Aires, bastonário of the Order of Engineers, also attended, alongside tenant representatives including Pedro Ventura of the Lisbon tenants' association.

Protests kept off the agenda

Observador reports that the protests, which have run for almost three weeks, were only lightly referred to during the meeting. The size of the demonstrations and the police response were not discussed. Seguro said he was "very worried" about the housing difficulties facing young people, and noted that poverty had fallen across the country but was rising among the young.

Police charges and the president's remarks

On Tuesday, 27 October, after police charges on protesters demanding the right to housing, Seguro answered reporters' questions and said he did not like what he had seen. He said he was waiting for the results of inquiries into police conduct, and referred to images from Lisbon the previous Saturday, 24 October.

“Portuguese culture is a culture of dialogue. It is not a culture of violence, nor is it a culture of confrontation.”

Seguro went on to say that he believed most Portuguese shared his reaction to the images.

“I did not like what I saw, as I am convinced most Portuguese did not either, because these are not normal images for a consolidated democracy.”

Calls for joint action

Seguro described young Portuguese as a blocked generation and said it was urgent to resolve access to housing, whether through buying or renting, for all budgets. He urged dialogue as the solution to the problems and never violence, and called on the government and the parties in Parliament to work together on solutions. The three-priority proposals gathered at Belém are now to be passed on to the parties, according to Seguro's commitment at the meeting.