(Bloomberg) -- Lisbon’s municipal assembly approved a proposal to hold a referendum about ending short-term rentals in residential buildings as the Portuguese capital struggles with a lack of affordable housing.
The country’s Constitutional Court still needs to approve the ballot questions before a referendum can take place.
Helio Pires, a member of the Movement for a Referendum on Housing, said his group collected more than 5,000 signatures from local residents that were needed for the proposal to be presented to the local assembly, which voted on the plan late on Tuesday. The goal is to put an end to an estimated 20,000 short-term rentals in Lisbon, he said.
“We want to free up housing units in Lisbon that are being used as short-term rentals so that locals can return to the city,” Pires said. “The housing situation in Lisbon has become unbearable for many locals.”
Home prices in Lisbon have more than doubled over the past decade, making it difficult for locals to find affordable housing in a city center that’s attracted growing numbers of tourists. Earlier this year, thousands of people took to the streets in Lisbon and elsewhere in Portugal to protest against high house prices and rising rental costs. Many cities around the world are facing similar strains, with Barcelona in June announcing a plan to ban short-term rentals.
Carla Reis Costa, a co-founder of short-term rental association ALEP, said it’s unfair to blame short-term rentals for higher housing costs because prices have continued to rise in recent years even after the city council and the government introduced some restrictions on new units.
A spokesman for the Lisbon municipality declined to comment on the proposed referendum.
Besides tourists, foreign residents have been flocking to Lisbon attracted in part by the so-called golden visas that were introduced in 2012, as well as by tax breaks for some newcomers. Portugal has now curbed some of those incentives.
--With assistance from Fergal O'Brien.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
