Urban Regeneration, Rent Regulation and the Private Rental Sector in Portugal: A Case Study on Inner-City Lisbon’s Social Sustainability
Rent regulation has a significant impact on tenant–landlord relations and the overall functioning of the private rented sector. Different forms of rent regulation—in relation to rent levels, rent increases, security of tenure, etc.—also affect the quality, the social composition and, ultimately, the...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Land |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/8/1644 |
| _version_ | 1797584090897055744 |
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| author | Sónia Alves Alda Botelho Azevedo Luís Mendes Katielle Silva |
| author_facet | Sónia Alves Alda Botelho Azevedo Luís Mendes Katielle Silva |
| author_sort | Sónia Alves |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Rent regulation has a significant impact on tenant–landlord relations and the overall functioning of the private rented sector. Different forms of rent regulation—in relation to rent levels, rent increases, security of tenure, etc.—also affect the quality, the social composition and, ultimately, the size of the private rented sector. Together they affect the character of much urban regeneration and renewal. The introduction in Portugal of more flexible rent regimes that aimed to gradually replace open-ended tenancies with freely negotiated contracts led researchers to classify the country as a free market system. In this paper, by using a mixed methods approach that combined desk-based research with census data and in-depth interviews, we test the) classification of Portugal’s rented sector as a free market against empirical evidence and examine the impacts of the main rent regulation regimes on social sustainability-oriented urban regeneration. Our results show that open-ended contracts, which were signed before the 1990s, still account for a significant part of the private rented sector, thus the classification of Portugal’s rent regulation regime as a free-market system does not capture the country’s most significant features. This is particularly evident in inner-city Lisbon, where various extreme rent regimes (in terms of contract duration, tenant security and prices) coexist, giving rise to tensions between housing quality and demographic shifts that threaten the overall social sustainability of the city. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:48:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4681f7a4a3c446b598c6f372a66d558e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:48:21Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-4681f7a4a3c446b598c6f372a66d558e2023-11-19T01:52:50ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2023-08-01128164410.3390/land12081644Urban Regeneration, Rent Regulation and the Private Rental Sector in Portugal: A Case Study on Inner-City Lisbon’s Social SustainabilitySónia Alves0Alda Botelho Azevedo1Luís Mendes2Katielle Silva3Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon, Av. Prof. Aníbal de Bettencourt 9, 1600-189 Lisboa, PortugalInstitute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon, Av. Prof. Aníbal de Bettencourt 9, 1600-189 Lisboa, PortugalInstitute of Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Lisbon, Rua Branca Edmée Marques, 1600-276 Lisboa, PortugalInstitute of Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Lisbon, Rua Branca Edmée Marques, 1600-276 Lisboa, PortugalRent regulation has a significant impact on tenant–landlord relations and the overall functioning of the private rented sector. Different forms of rent regulation—in relation to rent levels, rent increases, security of tenure, etc.—also affect the quality, the social composition and, ultimately, the size of the private rented sector. Together they affect the character of much urban regeneration and renewal. The introduction in Portugal of more flexible rent regimes that aimed to gradually replace open-ended tenancies with freely negotiated contracts led researchers to classify the country as a free market system. In this paper, by using a mixed methods approach that combined desk-based research with census data and in-depth interviews, we test the) classification of Portugal’s rented sector as a free market against empirical evidence and examine the impacts of the main rent regulation regimes on social sustainability-oriented urban regeneration. Our results show that open-ended contracts, which were signed before the 1990s, still account for a significant part of the private rented sector, thus the classification of Portugal’s rent regulation regime as a free-market system does not capture the country’s most significant features. This is particularly evident in inner-city Lisbon, where various extreme rent regimes (in terms of contract duration, tenant security and prices) coexist, giving rise to tensions between housing quality and demographic shifts that threaten the overall social sustainability of the city.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/8/1644private rental sectorrent regulationhousing marketsurban regenerationsocial sustainabilityLisbon |
| spellingShingle | Sónia Alves Alda Botelho Azevedo Luís Mendes Katielle Silva Urban Regeneration, Rent Regulation and the Private Rental Sector in Portugal: A Case Study on Inner-City Lisbon’s Social Sustainability Land private rental sector rent regulation housing markets urban regeneration social sustainability Lisbon |
| title | Urban Regeneration, Rent Regulation and the Private Rental Sector in Portugal: A Case Study on Inner-City Lisbon’s Social Sustainability |
| title_full | Urban Regeneration, Rent Regulation and the Private Rental Sector in Portugal: A Case Study on Inner-City Lisbon’s Social Sustainability |
| title_fullStr | Urban Regeneration, Rent Regulation and the Private Rental Sector in Portugal: A Case Study on Inner-City Lisbon’s Social Sustainability |
| title_full_unstemmed | Urban Regeneration, Rent Regulation and the Private Rental Sector in Portugal: A Case Study on Inner-City Lisbon’s Social Sustainability |
| title_short | Urban Regeneration, Rent Regulation and the Private Rental Sector in Portugal: A Case Study on Inner-City Lisbon’s Social Sustainability |
| title_sort | urban regeneration rent regulation and the private rental sector in portugal a case study on inner city lisbon s social sustainability |
| topic | private rental sector rent regulation housing markets urban regeneration social sustainability Lisbon |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/8/1644 |
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