Wednesday, 11 November 2026

Between 2015 and 2025, Portuguese house prices relative to household income surged by 60.8%, according to data from Eurostat. The increase was the highest recorded in the European Union, nearly nine times the EU average of 6.8%. The Netherlands and Hungary registered the second and third largest price-to-income increases, rising 34.3% and 26.5% respectively over the same decade.

The Portuguese Business Association (Associação Empresarial de Portugal or AEP) proposed a 50% corporate income tax (Imposto sobre o Rendimento das Pessoas Coletivas or IRC) deduction for companies funding worker accommodation. The business lobby presented the measure for the state budget, arguing that the country's housing shortage has become a barrier to recruitment, economic growth, and talent retention. The proposal aims to incentivize private firms to build or secure housing for employees facing steep rental costs.

Portugal moved up one position to 11th in the 2027 Climate Change Performance Index presented at the United Nations COP31 conference in Antalya, Turkey. The report by Germanwatch and the NewClimate Institute noted that Portugal's greenhouse gas emissions per capita dropped 15.1% over the past five years to 4.81 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. Denmark ranked highest in the assessment of 64 countries, while several major industrial nations received very low scores.

Property owners registering rustic and mixed-use land through the Integrated Land Registry Office (Balcão Único do Prédio or BUPi) no longer benefit from a temporary fee exemption, with costs now reaching up to €250. The end of the exceptional free scheme means owners must pay standard registration fees and administrative charges to formalize boundaries. The platform was created to map property boundaries and address millions of unregistered rural plots across the country.

Socialist Party (Partido Socialista or PS) leader José Luís Carneiro called for the resignation of Health Minister Ana Paula Martins following reports of a fourth patient death linked to Portimão Hospital. Carneiro held Prime Minister Luís Montenegro responsible for keeping the hospital management in place despite earlier warnings regarding safety and quality issues. The General Inspectorate of Health Activities (Inspeção-Geral das Atividades em Saúde or IGAS) received a formal complaint from the family of an 86-year-old woman who died after suffering multiple fractures.

The General Confederation of the Portuguese Workers (Confederação Geral dos Trabalhadores Portugueses or CGTP) demanded that all work absences during Storm Charles be classified as justified and fully paid. The union criticized the government for only appealing to employers' understanding regarding transit disruptions and school closures. Legal experts noted that while parents staying home to care for children during school closures do not lose salary, telework protections remain less clearly defined.

The Sintra Municipal Council approved the regulation for “Sintra Estuda +”, a €3 million scholarship program for local higher education students. The financial aid covers Sintra residents enrolled in public, private, or cooperative universities. Municipal officials expect the first-year program to help offset the rising costs of university attendance for local families.

A Public Security Police (Polícia de Segurança Pública or PSP) officer on trial in Olhão denied altering official records months after the death of Moroccan citizen Aissa Ait Aissa. Officers Jorge Sousa and Pedro Barbosa face charges of kidnapping and assault resulting in death following the victim's 20-day hospital stay in March 2024. Sousa told the court that merely opening and closing the incident file may have registered as a modification in the computer system without any content being changed.

Six housing rights activists arrested during an encampment clearance in Porto's Praça D. João I on October 25 appeared before the Public Prosecutor's Office (Ministério Público). Prosecutors are considering a provisional suspension of proceedings (suspensão provisória do processo), which would halt criminal disobedience charges if the defendants accept specific conditions. If the activists decline the proposed terms, the case will proceed to trial.

Consumer protection association DECO (Associação Portuguesa para a Defesa do Consumidor) submitted 18 proposals to the government and President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa to address rising housing costs. The group reported that rental prices for new contracts increased by 10.2% over the past year, leaving tenants with limited affordable options. The recommendations focus on protecting current tenants, curbing sharp rent spikes, and expanding the country's public housing stock.

Online shoppers in Portugal ordering from retailers based outside the European Union will pay value-added tax (IVA) and customs fees directly at checkout starting July 1, 2028. The upcoming EU-wide regulation aims to eliminate unexpected customs handling fees and delivery delays when packages arrive in Portugal. Under the updated framework, e-commerce platforms will be required to calculate and collect all applicable import taxes at the time of purchase.

Electronic toll operator Via Verde opened its second super-fast electric vehicle charging hub at the Trofa service station along the A3 motorway. The company currently operates 280 charging stations and plans to reach 350 through a €20 million investment program. Company leadership called on Portuguese authorities to accelerate bureaucratic licensing procedures to allow faster expansion of the country's high-speed charging network.