PORTUGAL: End Of Rent Controls Scares Residents.

http://world.time.com/2012/10/02/portugal-scraps-rent-controls-alarms-low-earners/

     Hard times in Portugal...are about to get even harder...as the austerity wracked nation prepares to kill off rent controls.
     A rigid 1910 law...passed to fight inflation...has allowed many residents to escape escalating rents for decades...and kept landlords frustrated and their buildings in poor shape.

     Many economists claim that rent control is the main reason for the shabby charm of Lisboa.
     They call it an enormous 'market distortion'...that will soon be rectified.
     Some people in Lisboa pay 5E/$6.50 per month rent...and over 150,000 people pay less than 50 euros/$65 monthly.
     A limited increase transition will take place over the next 5 years...and 250,000 families will come under rent review.
     But...these long demanded and long postponed rent reforms...will only add to the anxiety...and anger...building in the small nation.