On Wednesday, the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) asked the government to stop rent increases in Portugal. Due to a state of high inflation, the PCP wants to protect families from eviction, as well as suspend mortgage payments.
Communist Joao Dias Coelho said in a press conference that it is time to end broken promises that do not solve an issue affecting thousands of families.
He said, “We must confront the dominant interests in the housing marketing” through measures and investments that assure the right to housing.
The Portuguese Communist Party believes that the “accumulation of profit and growing inflation” demand a significant intervention by the government to “stop the growing rent values and to guarantee a reduction in bank spreads for loans.”
The PCP proposes to the socialist government that families be protected from eviction. The party also wants to suspend mortgage payments for those owning and living in their home.
Joao Dias Coelho also pointed out that “Lisbon is the third most expensive city in the world to live in,” according to a recent study. The study compares the average salary and cost of living in each city in the world.
“With the average salary in Lisbon of 1037 euros, an average rental of a three-bedroom at 1625 euros, access to housing is inaccessible to most of the population”, said Coelho.
The party believes the rise in rent prices is aggravated by a “politics of low salaries and labor and job insecurity.”
🏠🏬 A situação, hoje, coloca grandes dificuldades de acesso à habitação para a maioria da população e exige medidas urgentes, mais que a repetição de promessas sempre incumpridas que adiam a resposta a um problema que atinge milhares de famílias, em particular …
+ pic.twitter.com/xQwN4o1SDb— PCP (@pcp_pt) August 17, 2022
