Government to intervene if real estate industry doesn’t self regulate

Portugal’s Prime Minister António Costa warned the country’s real estate sector that the government will step in if it fails to self regulate.

He said on Thursday that he expected the real estate sector would be able to self regulate and that landlords would be able to temper their rental ambitions and not charge sky-high rents that ordinary Portuguese families would not be able to afford.
But he warned that if the sector didn’t buck up and act fairly, the State would have to intervene to restore the balance.
The Prime Minister fired his warning shot at a lunch with members of the Confederation of Trade and Services (Confederação do Comércio e Serviços) after fielding a question about real estate speculation, mainly in larger cities, which is affecting many traders.
António Costa said he was “confident” that the market would be able to adjust and return to a balanced situation and contract stability.
“If not the case then we would have to help the market to readjust which is one of the functions of public power, the Estate and political power — to act as a market regulator.