Portugal Clears Housing Protest Camps as Thousands Rally in Lisbon

Portugal's housing crisis has intensified tensions between demonstrators and authorities after police dismantled protest camps in Lisbon and Porto early Sunday, October 25, 2026, arresting dozens of people and using batons against protesters demanding affordable housing. Thousands subsequently gathered outside parliament in Lisbon on Tuesday evening, October 27, to oppose proposed changes to rental laws and condemn alleged police violence.

According to Al Jazeera, police removed more than 100 tents from Lisbon's Rossio Square after thousands joined a housing protest march on Saturday. Euronews reported that approximately 130 tents had been erected in the capital, while a separate encampment of about 50 tents was dismantled at Praça D. João I in Porto.

Police reported that the operation was proportionate. Al Jazeera said 25 people arrested in Lisbon were subsequently released and scheduled to appear in court on Monday, while Euronews reported a total of 31 arrests across the two cities.

Portuguese police described the encampments as illegal and explained the operation's purpose in a statement posted on X.

"Once dialogue ended, the operation led to 31 arrests for disobedience," police said.

The operation began after authorities warned demonstrators that tents could not remain overnight. Euronews reported that officers cordoned off both squares shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday, with canine units deployed as protesters formed a human chain. Police used batons to disperse the crowds.

Accounts of the injuries differed significantly. Police reported seven minor injuries among officers and demonstrators across both operations, while the activist group Casa para Viver said 60 people had been hurt. Euronews separately reported that a spokesperson for the Porto camp told Portuguese news agency Lusa that 37 minor injuries had occurred there.

Activists criticized the police response and argued that the nighttime operation was intended to intimidate demonstrators.

"Choosing the early hours of the morning to unleash dogs and baton-charge peaceful protesters is a political decision. It shows this government would rather repress those denouncing the housing crisis than address it," Casa para Viver said.

Catarina dos Santos, speaking about the demonstrations in Porto, described the police response as part of a continuing pattern of repression.

"It is the third night in which we are being repressed with a method of total intimidation that one would never expect in a democratic country governed by the rule of law," dos Santos said.

She also described the presence of police dogs and weapons during the operation.

"There were at least 20 crowd-control dogs, clearly agitated, and a number of weapons pointed at us, and if this is not intimidating and serious, I don't know what is," dos Santos said, according to Euronews.

Protesters had warned that they considered the police presence excessive before officers moved into the squares. Demonstrators also chanted, "It smells like a dictatorship," while some bystanders in Porto sang a song associated with Portugal's 1974 revolution.

Housing campaigners are demanding that the government withdraw proposed legislation that would make evictions easier and remove rent caps on new rental agreements. Other demands include preventing evictions when tenants have no alternative housing, restricting property purchases by real estate funds, rehabilitating vacant buildings and limiting rents.

The dispute comes amid a severe affordability problem. According to Al Jazeera, Portuguese home prices have more than doubled since 2017, while rents for new leases have nearly doubled. Young people are among those most affected by rising housing costs and broader living expenses.

The Bank of Portugal estimates the country faces a shortage of 300,000 homes, equivalent to the entire housing stock of Lisbon. The proposed tenancy changes have passed an initial parliamentary reading, with the far-right Chega party abstaining.

Portugal's President António José Seguro criticized the violence following the camp clearances and called for dialogue. According to Yahoo, he said he would await the findings of investigations into the incidents.

Thousands attended Tuesday's rally outside parliament, carrying keys, cardboard houses and red carnations. Singer Marisa Liz joined the gathering, where demonstrators sang, "This is where we live," and chanted against fascism.

The protests in Portugal reflect wider European tensions over housing shortages and rising rents, with demonstrations over affordability also reported in Spain and other cities across the continent.