Take part
How to take part
You don’t need any experience, and you don’t need to belong to a party. All it takes is neighbours, workmates and the will to change things. Start here.
Citizens’ Legislative Initiative
The law is yours too
With 20,000 signatures, any group of citizens can put a bill before Parliament. The Acampada pela Habitação, the movement behind the tent camps, is drafting one, and wants to hear from you: what is the biggest housing problem, and what would you change in the law?
1
Have your say
Answer the survey and come to the open sessions around the country. A committee of 5 to 10 people drafts the bill from what people say.
2
Sign
20,000 voters sign the proposal.
3
To Parliament
The bill goes to the Assembleia da República to be debated and voted on. Parliament has admitted 14 citizens’ initiatives so far, and approved 8.
Both are in Portuguese. The survey is end-to-end encrypted and can be answered anonymously. Contact: ilc-habitacao@proton.me
What the tent camps are demanding
- Repeal the 2012 rent law
- Stop evictions
- Ban vulture funds from buying homes
- More public housing
- Bring empty buildings back into use as homes
- Caps on rents
How to take part
Everything starts with getting organised
No one can fix this alone.
Want to start a group where you live, or sign your organisation up to these demands? Get in touch.
1
Get your building or street together
Talk to your neighbours, start a group and compare rents, leases and problems. Knowing what everyone pays is where your power starts.
2
Join a tenants’ association and a union
Being in both protects you from your landlord and your boss. Find an organisation.
3
Take to the streets
Join the demonstrations and local actions for the right to housing. Every one counts, in big cities and small towns alike.
4
Spread the word
Share the figures on this site, talk about your own situation, print posters and bring the debate to your school, workplace and residents’ association.
Join both
To win, organise at home and at work
Tenants’ association
Learn your rights, get legal support and deal with your landlord together. Tenants who organise negotiate from a much stronger position.
Trade union
Advice, protection from retaliation and the collective strength to win wages that can actually pay for a home.
Questions
Do I have to belong to a party?
No. This campaign is open to anyone who supports the right to housing, whoever they vote for.
I own my home with a mortgage. Is this for me too?
Yes. Rising interest rates and prices hit buyers too, and your children and neighbours face the same impossible rents. Housing is everyone’s problem.
How do I start a group in my building or neighbourhood?
Start small: a chat with your neighbours, a sheet listing everyone’s rent and lease, a messaging group. Then call an open meeting. Email us at contacto@habitacao.bytetoit.com and we’ll help with materials and contacts.
My organisation wants to endorse the demands. What do we do?
Send us your organisation’s name, town and a contact at contacto@habitacao.bytetoit.com.