September marks the start of the new academic year, bringing new challenges for thousands of Portuguese students. For those entering higher education, one of the toughest begins straight away: trying to find somewhere to live.
According to data from the Directorate-General for Higher Education (DGES), 49,991 students were placed in the first phase of the National Access Competition for Higher Education, 6,092 more than in the previous year, corresponding to an increase of 13.9%.
Within this group, thousands are forced to leave their parents' home to continue their studies at a university in another city. The figures appear to confirm this trend: according to Idealista, the property sales and lettings portal, demand for rooms rose by 27% in the second quarter of 2026.
According to the platform, Beja was the market with the sharpest surge in demand, recording "an increase of 160% year on year". Next came Coimbra (120%) and Porto (104%), "two of the country's largest markets, where demand more than doubled in a year". The portal also identifies Évora, Viseu and Bragança as having "very significant increases".
The Portuguese capital, Lisbon, recorded a rise of 17 per cent in demand for rooms to rent.
