A total of 922,921 family accommodations are rented and of these, "the range of the monthly rent with the greatest representation is that of '€650 euros to €999.99'", reads the bulletin published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). Additionally, 21 percent of households have monthly rent of €1,000 or more. The lowest income bracket (less than €100 euros) represents 12.5 percent.

Data collected between April and June this year also shows that there are more people renting a house in Portugal. The number of classic dwellings of habitual residence that are leased or sub-leased grew by around 16 percent compared to 2011. Today they represent around 22.3 percent of the total of classic dwellings of habitual residence - which totals 4,143,043, according to INE.

Households shrinking

Households in Portugal now have on average fewer people living in them. “In 2021, the average size of private households is 2.5 people, a figure that was reduced by 0.1 compared to 2011”, a trend that was seen in all regions of the country.

Meanwhile, over the past decade the number of people living alone has increased. In 2021, one in three private households is home to two people, while single-person households represent 24.8 percent, with this number having increased in the last decade by around 18.6 percent.

Households with large families is conversely decreasing with four people homes representing 14.7 percent and households with five people only 5.6 percent, when in 2011, they represented 16.6 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively. "These changes in the size of family structures are the result of trends in the patterns of fertility, marriage and divorce that contribute to smaller households", explained the national statistics office.