More and more people are living in overcrowded homes

The conclusions of the Living Conditions and Income Survey by the National Statistics Institute (INE) reveal that the proportion of people living in accommodation “in which the number of habitable rooms was insufficient” increased from 9.4% to 12.9%. . The number of residents experiencing severe housing deprivation also increased from 3.9% to 6%. It mainly affects the poorest and families with children or young people up to the age of 17 who live in cities and more urban areas.

In the information published this Friday, INE reports that 4% of people aged 16 or over admitted that, due to lack of housing, they had to temporarily spend the night in another accommodation (private or collective), on the street, in a public space or at the home of friends or family. “The main reasons mentioned by respondents were relationship or family problems (39.6%) and financial problems (19.1%)”, can be read in the INE document.

The overcrowding rate is higher in urban areas (14.9%) and particularly affects the population at risk of poverty and children and young people up to the age of 17. Around a fifth of children and young people (21.8%) live in overcrowded properties.

“The risk of living in a situation of insufficient housing space was more significant for the population at risk of poverty: 27.7% of the population at risk of poverty were in a situation of overcrowded housing, which compares with 9.8% for the rest population”, it also reads. In the autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira, cases of overcrowding grew even more than on the Mainland: In the Azores, this rate went from 13.5% in 2022 to 21.4% last year, while, in Madeira, it rose from 13% to 20.3%.

Furthermore, 6% of the population in Portugal lives in degraded, overcrowded houses. In addition to living in a property that is too small for the number of residents, the housing has at least one of these problems: lack of bath or shower installation and flush toilet inside the accommodation; ceiling that allows water to pass through, moisture in the walls or rotting windows or floors; and/or insufficient natural light on a sunny day.

In general, INE also highlights that almost a third of the population (29%) lives in homes with rotting floors, damp and water infiltration and 8.1% do not have enough natural light on sunny days.