Almada Families Displaced by Demolitions
Thirty-five families in Almada are facing homelessness as their homes are slated for demolition due to structural risks. With no rehousing options available, the situation is intensifying the local affordable housing crisis and raising questions about urban safety and social support.
The homes are located in the Azinhaga dos Formozinhos area of Porto Brandão, Almada. A report from the Almada Municipal Civil Protection Service on February 4, 2026, classified the area as having a "high to very high" risk of collapse due to gravitational mass failure, a type of landslide. A significant landslide on February 7, 2026, prompted the evacuation of several homes, leading to the official demolition decree issued on February 24. Residents were given until mid-April 2026 to demolish their own homes. If they fail to do so, the municipality will carry out the demolitions and charge the costs, which could amount to tens of thousands of euros per household, to the residents. This situation highlights a broader issue in Portugal where residential areas built before modern zoning standards face the combined challenges of geological instability, regulatory enforcement, and a severe shortage of affordable housing. The housing crisis in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area is severe, with Almada previously having an estimated 5,000 shanty homes. In Almada, the average household needs to spend 47% of its income on rent. This crisis is exacerbated by rising property prices, which saw a 157% increase between 2020 and 2021 in Portugal, and a lack of social housing, which constitutes only 2% of the country's housing stock. This is not an isolated incident in Almada. In a separate case, over 60 families in the Segundo Torrao neighborhood faced demolition orders in June 2022 due to flood risks from an underground water channel. That situation also involved protests and legal challenges over the rights of residents to rehousing. The Almada municipality, led by Mayor Inês de Medeiros, has stated it is actively working to find alternative housing for the displaced families. The situation in Almada is part of a larger national trend of cracking down on illegal or unsafe construction, with similar demolitions of unauthorized homes occurring in municipalities like Loulé and Castro Marim. The national government has launched initiatives like the "Construir Portugal" strategy and the "Mais Habitação" program to address the housing crisis by increasing the supply of public and affordable housing. The Lisbon Metropolitan Area is also developing a coordinated plan to tackle housing shortages, with municipalities applying for funding through the Recovery and Resilience Plan to build or rehabilitate tens of thousands of homes.
