A European Parliament Housing Committee delegation has concluded a three-day visit to Lisbon to examine measures being used to tackle housing affordability, raising alarm about short-term rentals.
The visit ran from 30 March to 1 April and included meetings with national authorities and other stakeholders, the European Parliament announced on Wednesday.
Committee chair Irene Tinagli said the delegation discussed housing supply and demand with local organisations and reviewed data during the trip.
Tinagli stressed the delegation heard that limited public housing, the expansion of short-term tourist rentals and speculative investment were pushing families out of their communities.
Focus on short-term tourist rentals
In some areas, the share of apartments moved out of the long-term rental market to be used for short-term tourist accommodation reaches “staggering percentages”, Tinagli said, according to the European Parliament.
She added that the issue was not only specific to Portugal and described it as a wider European problem.
Tinagli stated the visit was also used to assess how the Parliament’s proposals were being received and how they would be implemented on the ground, adding that continued dialogue with national, regional and local stakeholders would be needed.
