Minister of Infrastructure and Housing Miguel Pinto Luz announced that the government is willing to negotiate amendments to its proposed rental law with the right-wing party Chega. Pinto Luz stated that the administration wants to address the concerns of a silent majority struggling with housing costs who do not participate in street protests. The potential negotiations could reshape pending tenancy legislation before final parliamentary votes.
Government Open to Rental Law Talks With Chega
Monday, 2 November 2026AI summary
Context & Explainers
Miguel Pinto Luz is Portugal’s Minister of Infrastructure and Housing and a senior figure in the PSD. His portfolio covers roads, rail (including the Lisbon–Porto high-speed line), airports and housing policy. Before joining the government he was deputy mayor of Cascais.
Chega ("Enough") is a Portuguese far-right populist party founded in 2019 by André Ventura. It positions itself as an anti-establishment movement against what it calls a "rotten and corrupt system" of PS-PSD dominance. The party surged from 1.3% in 2019 to 22.8% in May 2025, becoming parliament's second-largest force with 60 seats. Chega's core platform emphasizes strict immigration control—ending automatic CPLP residency, deporting non-independent immigrants, implementing job-market quotas, and requiring five-year social security contributions before benefit access. It advocates radical constitutional reform, including reducing parliament to 100 members, abolishing the prime minister position for a presidential system, and dismantling public healthcare. Law-and-order policies include life imprisonment and chemical castration proposals.
The party is defined by inflammatory anti-Romani rhetoric, with Ventura convicted multiple times for discrimination. Chega maintains international alignments with European far-right figures including Marine Le Pen, Santiago Abascal, and Matteo Salvini. Mainstream Portuguese parties, including Prime Minister Luís Montenegro's government, have imposed a cordon sanitaire, refusing coalition with Chega despite its parliamentary strength.
