Portugal's housing crisis has spilled into its streets — and now into the Prime Minister's front yard, almost literally. A video released on Friday, October 16, shows a speaker at a night-time demonstration urging the crowd to find PM Luís Montenegro's address and throw a brick at his house, before declaring that peaceful protest had run its course.

Montenegro, speaking from Brussels where he was attending a European Council meeting, called it a direct threat against his home and family and warned against importing confrontational tactics seen elsewhere. To be fair, he also acknowledged that protesters have every right to be angry: rents and property prices in Portugal have soared, and residents are struggling to find affordable places to live.

The government's counter-argument is a list of measures: the target for building and renovating homes under the country's Recovery and Resilience Plan has been raised to 59,000 properties, planning rules have been loosened to speed up construction, and first-time buyers aged 35 or under can benefit from exemptions on property transfer tax (IMT) and stamp duty. There's also a state-backed mortgage guarantee allowing qualifying young buyers to finance the full purchase price. Whether that's enough to calm the mood is another matter.

Why should holidaymakers care? Further demonstrations were scheduled for Saturday, October 17 in Lisbon, Coimbra and Porto — three of the country's biggest visitor destinations. The protests so far have been peaceful in nature and focused on housing policy rather than tourists, but large marches can mean road closures, diverted transport and crowded squares, particularly around Lisbon's city centre. If you're visiting a Portuguese city on a weekend in the coming weeks, it's worth a quick check of local news before heading out for the evening. The underlying issue — a severe shortage of affordable homes, partly blamed on short-term rentals and rising living costs — also explains why some locals have grown frustrated with mass tourism, so travelling considerately won't go amiss.

Montenegro, for his part, drew a firm line between legitimate protest and calls for violence, saying frustration with policy can never justify threatening anyone's family. Expect the debate — and possibly the demonstrations — to continue until the housing numbers start moving. Portugal Resident