Experts Demand National Emergency Plan to Combat Portugal's Deepening Housing Crisis
Housing must be elevated to a national priority and the current crisis demands the implementation of an emergency action plan, two leading specialists have warned in an interview with the Lusa news agency. They cautioned that a failure to act decisively will lead to the continued proliferation of shacks and other forms of precarious construction across the country. Sociologist Sandra Marques Pereira, a researcher at the DINÂMIA'CET-Iscte institute, stated unequivocally, "Housing should be treated as a national priority, and it is not." She acknowledged that while some efforts are underway, "housing policy still doesn't have the centrality it should, given the gravity of the situation." Pereira expressed doubt that the situation would improve under the current framework, predicting that the growth of informal settlements will proceed unchecked.
This call to action was strongly supported by Isabel Santana, who recently retired after a 40-year career at the Lisbon City Council, much of it dedicated to municipal housing management. "There is an urgent need for a national housing emergency plan," Santana affirmed. She painted a grim picture of the future if the current trajectory continues. "This escalation of the proliferation of shacks and precarious constructions will not stop. If there is no different action, we will have the 'clandestine' settlements we had in the 1980s and 90s." Her proposed solution involves a two-pronged approach: a massive commitment to "large-scale construction" of new housing stock and seamless "coordination between the central administration and local power."
Isabel Santana, a co-author of Lisbon's Local Housing Strategy, argued that while municipalities are attempting to address the issue, their measures often serve as mere "quick fixes" that are overwhelmed by the immense "volume and dimension of the needs." The crisis, she detailed, has expanded far beyond its traditional boundaries. "We are not just talking about needy people with low resources," she explained. "Among the evicted people right now are not only families from shacks... we are talking about elderly people who suffer 'real estate bullying' because of local accommodation, we are talking about young graduates, with master's and doctoral degrees, who do not have access, without their parents' help, to housing in Lisbon."
This broadening of the affected demographic highlights a systemic failure in the market that is pushing out even those with stable, professional careers. Sandra Marques Pereira further noted that the most visible signs of the crisis, like shantytowns, are just one part of the problem. She criticized the government for remaining "completely silent" on other critical issues such as severe household "overcrowding and beds rented at exorbitant prices." The collective warning from these experts suggests that without a comprehensive, top-down strategic intervention, Portugal's housing affordability and availability problems are set to worsen, impacting social stability and economic development. Understand policy impacts on your Portugal property plans at realestate-lisbon.com.
