Losing your home is one of the biggest fears for those they live for rent, especially at older ages, due to the difficulty in finding another house or apartment due to high market prices. This is what happened to a retired Portuguese couple aged 75 and 77 who, after years living in the same apartment, was forced to leave it when the owner decided to use it for tourist rentals.
According to reports Sic Newsthe elderly, had been living in the home for nine years until they received an eviction order. The landlord informed them of his intention to transform the property into a tourist accommodationan increasingly common practice in cities like Lisbon due to the rise of tourism.
With a monthly income that does not exceed 700 euros, the couple could not find another home to settle in. The lack of resources not only prevented them from accessing another rental, but also forced them to leave many of their belongings behind as they had nowhere to store them.
They ended up living in a station, depending on the help of their neighbors
Faced with the impossibility of finding a new home, the couple ended up settling in a station in the city, where they survived thanks to the help of two people who provided them with clothing, food and access to toilets.
These same people promoted a collection of signatures to demand an urgent solution. “We want decent housing to be guaranteed for this couple. We cannot allow our elders to live like this,” they said in statements to local media.
The case was even transferred to a parish in the area, whose social services began to follow up on the couple to, in coordination with the municipal authorities, find a solution.