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Living in Lisbon. Crazy Rents and Occupied Buildings
18 September 2017
The Lisbon Occupation Assembly has occupied a building in Arroios. Their objective is to bring attention to housing problems in Lisbon and give the public access to spaces that, in this case, belong to the city council
The group surveyed houses owned by the Lisbon City Hall that were unoccupied. Of a total of ten, eight had already been sold, and of the remaining two, 69 Rua Marques da Silva seemed perfect for their plan: to bring attention to the population’s right to housing in Lisbon.
On Friday, the Lisbon Occupation Assembly (AOLX) went through the front door of the building, which was unlocked, and placed a banner on the balcony reading “The city belongs to those who occupy it” and began cleaning the property that they now say belongs to the public.
The group is not linked to any political parties, associations or unions. “We are just 20 people who know each other and came together after realising that Lisbon is turning into one big business,” says Tiago Duarte, a spokesman for a group that began with about twenty people, but is now more diffuse.
Yesterday, about 150 people participated in an assembly organised to discuss the future use of the occupied property. According to Tiago, the building consists of eight apartments, but ideas go beyond housing. “There were a lot of ideas. It could be a housing support centre in Lisbon, a base to support new occupations or a think tank focused on housing issues in the city,” he says. There have even been proposals with social and cultural aspects, such as the creation of a support centre for the elderly in the area, a children’s music workshop and a photo centre.
Nothing was defined one afternoon. The ideas will be analysed, and the group will present the best to the city council, which, so far, has not reacted to the occupation.
Demystifying the occupation
The weekend was about cleaning up, changing locks and brainstorming. “The building is structurally sound,” says Tiago. And therefore, this group did not want to see it empty and abandoned, next to houses with rent that rise every year.
“We all feel the increase in housing prices, but this goes beyond just the money,” he says. Tiago believes that Lisbon has entered the circuit of foreign financial capital and that this is lowering the quality of life in the city. “Houses are more expensive, as are work and transport. In practice, we live an increasingly precarious life,” he summarizes.
This house was the group’s first occupation, but they do not intend to stop. “We want to demystify the issue of occupation and show that these spaces can be of social benefit,” he says.
Rents rising
The latest study by real estate consultant CBRE reveals that rental costs in Lisbon rose 23% in the last year, to an average of 830 euros per month. The most expensive area to rent a home is the Parque das Nações, where monthly rent is around 1080 euros. This is followed by Avenidas Novas, where tenants pay, on average, 998 euros of rent per month.
Further news released this week again shook the housing sector. According to the National Statistics Institute, rents will rise again in 2018, with an expected increase of around 1.12%, more than double this year’s increase and the highest in the last five years.
Original Story: Jornal i – Marta Cerqueira
Translation: Richard Turner