51 anos de Democracia: as mudanças na habitação em Portugal

Abstract

Research Purpose: Over the last 51 years, Portugal has undergone an extraordinary quantitative and qualitative transformation in housing, brought about by the institutionalisation of democracy and European integration. Democracy has transformed the right to housing into a constitutional principle, but the market has undergone distinct cycles of massive construction, liberalisation and, recently, strong price increases. This article characterises the changes that have taken place in the housing stock between 1970 and 2021, associated with demographic, social, economic and political changes. Methodology: To understand the changes in housing, it is necessary to reflect on the dynamics that have occurred. Therefore, the methodology adopted is based on the analysis of a set of indicators from the Population and Housing Censuses conducted by the National Statistics Institute (INE) between 1970 and 2021. Findings: The improvement in housing conditions was undoubtedly one of the achievements of our democracy. Demographic dynamics strongly influenced the territorial distribution of buildings and housing stock. The construction dynamics of recent decades have meant that a very significant proportion of buildings are relatively new, with an improvement in comfort conditions. Families have played an important role in housing production; there is a predominance of owner-occupied housing, strongly supported by housing policy; the rental market is residual, mainly as a result of the prolonged rent freeze; there is a high number of vacant and seasonal dwellings and public housing is insignificant. Over the last decade, we have seen increasing difficulties in access, associated with high housing prices in relation to household incomes, particularly for younger people, and new forms of housing deprivation. Originality/Value: The article contributes to addressing the challenges facing housing policy in Portugal.