The Amadora City Council has posted public notices throughout vulnerable neighborhoods authorizing the immediate demolition of illegal constructions without prior warning to builders—a policy that housing advocates say violates Portugal's legal protections for occupied dwellings and could leave dozens of families homeless.
Why This Matters:
• 48-hour window only: Residents in structures deemed illegal may receive just two days to remove belongings before bulldozers arrive—and only if someone is living inside.
• Legal gray zone: Advocates argue Portugal's housing law requires alternative accommodation for vulnerable families before any demolition, but the municipality treats informal dwellings as mere "illegal structures."
• Active enforcement: Demolitions began this week in Alto da Cova da Moura, targeting new builds and extensions in neighborhoods covered by the Special Rehousing Program.
• Decades-long tension: The notices revive memories of demolitions in July 2025, when machines arrived in the former Santa Filomena neighborhood with minimal notice—less than the legally required period.
The Policy: No Warning for New Builds
The municipal order, approved by the executive council on June 3, 2026 and now displayed in neighborhoods including Estrada Militar/Mina de Água and Cova da Moura, applies to "new illegal constructions" and "illegal extensions to existing buildings" within areas classified as precarious, degraded, or informally settled.
The text authorizes immediate demolition without prior notification to those responsible for the illegal work, citing the "urgent need to contain and combat the proliferation of such constructions." The sole exception: when structures are occupied or contain belongings, the council promises 48 hours' notice and "social support measures."
What the notice does not say, according to Patrícia Bastos, a lawyer with the Vida Justa movement, is whether those "occupations" mean inhabited homes or merely storage sheds. "There is no mention that these constructions constitute the housing of multiple people," she told the press. "The municipality knows very well that people live in these illegal structures."
The distinction matters under Portuguese housing law, which treats occupied dwellings—even informal ones—differently from agricultural outbuildings or empty structures. The law explicitly prohibits evicting vulnerable households without providing alternative housing, a protection that Bastos argues applies equally to self-built homes.
What This Means for Residents
If you live in an informal settlement covered by the Special Rehousing Program or in scattered precarious housing clusters in Amadora, here's what the new policy means in practice:
Demolition triggers: Any construction or extension built after the notice was posted is subject to immediate removal. The council's methodology, published online June 9, 2026, gives Municipal Police inspection teams authority to identify and flag structures for demolition without individualized warning letters.
The 48-hour rule: If your home is marked for demolition, you should—in theory—receive two business days to vacate and remove possessions. However, Vida Justa documented cases in 2025 where notices were posted on a Friday evening and machinery arrived Monday morning, a timeline that does not satisfy the legal definition of "two working days."
Social support pledge: The Amadora City Council, led by Socialist mayor Vítor Ferreira, insists that "all social support procedures will be safeguarded" and that families will be directed toward alternative accommodation. The municipality has not specified what form that support takes or whether it includes permanent rehousing.
No legal process: Unlike formal eviction proceedings, which require court orders or administrative hearings at the Balcão do Arrendatário e do Senhorio (Tenant and Landlord Desk), demolitions under this policy bypass judicial review. The council argues that because the structures are illegal, standard tenant protections do not apply.
Legal Challenge: Is Demolition the Same as Eviction?
Housing lawyers contend that demolishing an occupied home is legally equivalent to eviction, regardless of whether the building has formal permits. "If a family is being expelled from where they live, the public administration must treat that structure as housing and comply with the full legal procedure," Bastos explains. "No vulnerable household can be evicted without an alternative."
This interpretation hinges on Article 7 of the Housing Base Law and related statutes that guarantee the right to adequate housing. When a structure serves as someone's primary residence—complete with a household, personal belongings, and daily routines—it acquires legal protections that do not apply to vacant lots or purely commercial buildings.
The Amadora municipality counters that tolerating new illegal construction undermines 25 years of investment in urban requalification and the eradication of informal settlements. "The collective and financial effort cannot be compromised by accepting new situations of illegality," the executive statement reads. The council also points to the principle of fairness: citizens who follow building codes have the right to expect the same rules apply to everyone.
Alternatives and Rehousing Options
Amadora does operate several official rehousing programs, though capacity remains limited relative to demand. In June 2026, the municipality opened applications for 48 sustainable apartments in Cerrado da Mira, located in the Mina de Água parish. The units, financed by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), offer T1 and T2 layouts with reduced rent capped at 35% of household income.
Eligibility requires three years of residence or employment in Amadora, a threshold that may exclude recent arrivals or families without formal work contracts. Applications closed June 19, and the municipality has not announced additional tranches.
The 2026 municipal budget allocates funding for continued interventions under the Special Rehousing Program (PER) and the Municipal Affordable Rental Program, with a stated priority of "eliminating clusters of undignified construction." The Amadora Municipal Housing Charter (CMHA 2035), which underwent public consultation in February 2026, outlines long-term strategies but does not commit to emergency accommodation for families displaced by sudden demolitions.
Resident Fears and Recent Precedent
Families in Estrada Militar/Mina de Água are "very afraid of what might happen," according to Bastos, who has been advising residents. In July 2025—the previous year—municipal teams dismantled 22 illegal structures in the former Santa Filomena neighborhood without prior explanation to inhabitants, according to Vida Justa. That precedent weighs heavily on residents today. Demolitions have now resumed in 2026, with machinery arriving in Alto da Cova da Moura early this week.
The lawyer estimates that "certainly dozens of family units" currently live in self-built homes in the Estrada Militar area alone. Vida Justa is now conducting a census of new constructions to identify which households face imminent risk.
The municipal notice was approved during a general strike day, with some opposition councilors boycotting the session in protest. Critics argue the timing and procedure reflect a lack of transparency and consultation with affected communities.
The Broader Context
Informal settlements in Amadora and neighboring Loures have long existed in legal limbo. Many were established by migrant families decades ago on land without formal title, evolving into multi-generational neighborhoods with established social networks, schools, and businesses. Portugal's PER program, launched in the 1990s, aimed to transition these communities into regulated public housing, but progress has been uneven.
The Vida Justa movement accuses both municipalities of pursuing a "policy of expelling the poorest" rather than addressing root causes of the housing crisis through market regulation and expanded public housing stock. The group has also denounced the abandonment of rehabilitation works at the Casal da Mira social housing estate, financed by the PRR, where residents live in "undignified conditions" due to lack of municipal maintenance.
Both councils defend their actions as "always within the law," prioritizing public safety, health, and human dignity. Loures has accused Vida Justa of "instrumentalizing vulnerable people" without offering concrete solutions to the "serious problem of uncontrolled proliferation of illegal constructions."
What Happens Next
The notice remains in effect for the current municipal term, which runs through 2029. Enforcement priorities and the pace of demolitions will depend on inspection schedules and political pressure from both sides.
For residents, the practical advice from advocates is to document everything: photographs of your home, utility bills (if any), school enrollment for children, medical records—anything that proves continuous habitation and establishes your household as a family unit rather than a transient occupation. This evidence may be critical if you need to challenge a demolition order or apply for emergency rehousing.
If you receive a demolition notice—or see one posted in your neighborhood—contact legal aid organizations like Vida Justa immediately. Portuguese law allows for administrative appeals and, in some cases, injunctive relief to halt demolitions pending judicial review. The 48-hour window is short, but not always the final word.
