A report by Público today claims that politicians who have supported (markedly unpopular) changes to Portugal’s rental laws own more than 1,000 properties, with a global value exceeding €55 million.
In a survey, the paper says that the government itself ‘stands out for the number of properties: 60 government officials own no less than 436 properties, with a combined value of approximately €23 million’.
Only two members of the executive have declared that they have no properties in their name, the paper adds.
Picking up the story, SIC Notícias reports that “according to the newspaper, which analysed the income and asset declarations submitted to the Constitutional Court, the group in question includes 220 politicians who are members of the government and the parliamentary groups of the PSD, CHEGA, Liberal Initiative (IL) and CDS-PP. Most of the documents were submitted in 2025, when the current government took office, and the declared income relates to 2024.
“Of the total analysed, only 26 politicians stated that they did not own any properties. The rest own at least one property, with 119 declaring that they have two or more, and 88 owning three or more.”
The survey does not sit well when one considers proposed changes to rental legislation promoted by the right-wing parliamentary majority. Among measures approved, but still to be discussed at committee stage, are the reduction of tax on rental income, from 25% to 10%, changes to rental rules that make evictions easier and give landlords greater freedom, and a comparative free-for-all when it comes to setting amounts required as security deposits.
CHEGA which essentially gave the government the green card it needed for the measures to receive initial approval has warned that it won’t continue supporting the policy unless certain changes are agreed.
Needless to say, Público’s ‘exclusive’ this morning will not help the government weather the current furore over the country’s housing crisis. The paper stresses that among the 220 property owners, 41 are landlords, and 32 can be described as ‘investors in the property sector’.
Source: SIC Notícias/ Público
Natasha Donn
Journalist for the Portugal Resident.