Thousands of people rallied outside Portugal's parliament in Lisbon on Tuesday 27 October 2026 to protest against a deepening housing crisis and recent police operations against housing activists, while lawmakers inside debated the government's draft budget for 2027.

Portugal faces one of Europe's most acute home affordability crises: house prices have more than doubled since 2017 and new-lease rents have nearly doubled, while wages have not kept up, hitting young people hardest. The protest followed police operations on Sunday, using batons, to dismantle tent camps set up by housing activists in Lisbon and Porto, which drew allegations of excessive force. Rally organisers said several thousand people packed the area; police gave no crowd estimate.

What protesters are demanding

Protesters demanded the minority centre-right government scrap a bill that would speed up evictions and end rent caps on new leases, which passed a first reading with the far-right Chega party abstaining. The Associated Press reported that demonstrators, many apparently in their 20s and 30s, chanted, sang and banged drums outside the Republican Assembly, and that police in previous days had used batons and dogs to break up similar protests in the capital's main downtown squares.

A wider European pattern

The Portuguese protests echo demonstrations in Spain and elsewhere in Europe over housing shortages and surging rents. Portugal's internal affairs watchdog opened an inquiry into the police operations, while prosecutors launched a separate investigation into officers' conduct. The president, Antonio Jose Seguro, has convened a Council of State meeting for next week to discuss the protests, AP reported.

Sources: Reuters and Associated Press.