Speaker: Luís Mendes. 8 January 2026 - 6 p.m. (PT) / 3 p.m. (BR).

The housing crisis in Portugal has deep roots in the dynamics of the property market, the lack of robust public policies and land management practices. It is not, therefore, a recent phenomenon, but the culmination of decades of disinvestment, speculation, and a lack of structural policies. This opening conference proposes a historical and political framework for the housing problem, in light of recent changes to the Land Law, reflecting on how these changes may influence urban planning, land use, and access to housing. The potential and limitations of the new legal framework will be discussed, with particular attention to the implications for market regulation, the mobilisation of land for housing purposes and the public response to the crisis. It will conclude with the identification of a set of policy recommendations aimed at realising the right to housing in a universal, unconditional and inalienable manner.

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