Portugal calls for vote on massive 'ban' which will impact UK tourists

James Rodger

8 November 2024 at 0:10 pm·2-min read

Portugal calls for vote on massive 'ban' which will impact UK tourists — -Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)

Lisbon residents are calling for a vote on banning tourist lets in residential blocks in the European Union. Housing activists in Lisbon are to hand over a petition, signed by more than 6,600 residents, in calls for the crackdown in the Portuguese city.

“Short-term rentals take most of the housing space in Lisbon’s historic centre,” said Raquel Antunes, a member the group Movement for a Housing Referendum. “We need to put the brakes on this.” On Friday, the movement will present the petition to the head of the municipal assembly.

If it progresses, referendum would be held in the first half of next year and result in a binding resolution to phase out the city’s 20,000 or so tourist flats within six months, as well as barring landlords from setting them up in residential buildings in the future.

The petition will be presented to the municipal assembly where it will be debated by members. If the referendum is accepted, it will be held in 2025. “We don’t have to give into despair, which I think in these times is very easy to do,” said Antunes.

“People told us about what kind of city they want to see,” said Antunes. “What kind of country do we want for youth, for elderly people, for people who can’t get houses?” She said: “Sometimes you just have to say goodbye to a city you love because you can’t afford to live there.”

“It would be a great step in the right direction,” she said. “Not only to listen to people but also to give them hope that we can make a city that is for everyone, not just for those who have money.” About 6,600 of the petition’s signatures are from Lisbon taxpayers.

They are backed by another 4,400 who aren’t registered in the city.

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