Latest news and stories about illegal construction in Portugal for expats and residents.
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Following the Prova dos Factos investigation last week, RTP has received further complaints regarding Mafalda Livermore.
Since July of last year, Loures City Council has demolished 88 homes in the Talude Militar neighbourhood, where 23 other structures are currently protected by an injunction. In response to the Lusa agency, the local authority stated that, as part of inspection actions carried out between 14 July 2025—when it conducted a large-scale intervention in Talude Militar—and last Friday, it demolished what it describes as “88 shanty structures built illegally.” Meanwhile, 23 buildings have been flagged with an injunction, which the council, led by Socialist Ricardo Leão, guarantees it is respecting. However, it notes that it has “observed, in several cases, attempts to expand these constructions” and has taken action against them, albeit “only on elements not protected by the judicial decision.” The demolitions “focused exclusively on extensions or new constructions” made after the notification of the court order, the council asserts. Regarding support for evicted families, only one household currently maintains “regular social monitoring by municipal services,” the council mentions, adding that 24 families have found housing solutions to date, having benefited from financial support for security deposits and first month's rent. “The remaining families occasionally resort to social services when they need specific support, having shown no interest in continuous monitoring, namely in the process of searching for alternative housing or autonomy actions,” it clarifies. Municipal services also provided food vouchers to 14 families. Loures City Council has been regularly demolishing self-built homes in various neighbourhoods across the municipality. To criticism from residents and associations complaining about a lack of housing alternatives, the council has responded that it will not allow the “proliferation of shanties in the municipality,” guaranteeing that “whenever new illegal constructions are identified, the intervention will be immediate and determined.” This “stance of total intransigence regarding illegal land occupation” has been affirmed and reiterated by Ricardo Leão, who was elected for a second term.
The court upheld the convictions of 12 defendants for works carried out between 2009 and 2017 in a protected area. A businessman had his sentence reduced to five years and nine months. All the structures will be demolished.
