Rising rental costs are forcing many households to take in unrelated people or share accommodation with strangers to afford housing, creating overcrowding, reduced privacy and added financial stress. Reports highlight families and single parents accepting lodgers or merging households as a survival strategy amid tight supply and high rents. Tenants and those searching for rental housing should factor in increased competition and consider contract safeguards before taking on housemates.

Update: Público republishes Lusa interviews with personal testimonies that detail crowded living arrangements and financial stress, including accounts of mothers sharing rooms with daughters and of households foregoing appliances, reinforcing earlier reporting on worsening overcrowding and basic-living pressures caused by high rents.