Government housing proposal faces potential defeat in Parliament

Wednesday, 30 September 2026AI summary

🏛️ Government 🏠 Property #property-market #expat-rights #government-policy #state-budget

Government housing proposal faces potential defeat in Parliament — Photo: ECO

The government's proposal to revise the New Urban Lease Regime (Novo Regime do Arrendamento Urbano or NRAU) faces significant opposition in Parliament. The Socialist Party (Partido Socialista or PS) and other parties have signaled they will vote against the bill, which includes measures like accelerating evictions after two months of rent arrears and removing the 2% cap on rent increases for new contracts.

Update: Rental law sent to committee stage

The government's rental reform proposal was discussed in Parliament this Wednesday but will be sent to the committee stage without a vote due to a lack of majority support. Meanwhile, protesters gathered outside the Ministry of Housing in Lisbon to demand the resignation of the minister over the proposed changes.

Context & Explainers

The NRAU is the Novo Regime do Arrendamento Urbano (New Urban Lease Regime), the legal regime that reformed Portugal's urban rental law and governs most residential leases. A ten‑year moratorium on applying some of its rules to older contracts has expired, which has allowed landlords to pursue repossession cases such as the order for Casa Pereira da Conceição to vacate.

Health cards are private membership or discount schemes sold by companies that offer access to consultations, tests or reduced fees at private clinics; they are not the public health service. The Socialist Party (Partido Socialista or PS) has proposed regulation to increase transparency and protect consumers from misleading marketing or unexpected charges.