The municipal council of Castro Marim has identified around 100 illegal homes across the borough, with 70% deemed impossible to legalise and set to be demolished.
A survey carried out by the council found dozens of constructions and urban interventions built without proper licensing or authorisation. These include prefabricated and modular homes, wooden houses, mobile units and converted shipping containers.
Speaking to Lusa news agency, Castro Marim mayor Filomena Sintra said that around 95% of the cases involve people who chose to settle in the municipality “on their own initiative, and not due to a lack of alternatives”.
She stressed that “70% of these occupations are not eligible for licensing”, meaning owners are now being notified to demolish the structures and restore the land to its original condition.
According to the mayor, the process is “demanding in administrative and legal terms”, as authorities must distinguish between primary residences and cases where people deliberately choose to live in “isolated areas close to nature”.
She warned that many of these homes are located in “dispersed, hidden areas with poor access”, creating serious challenges for emergency services. “We do not know who the families behind these households are, and in an emergency, they are not part of any response plan,” she said.
The mayor added that individual decisions to settle outside regulated areas can lead to “serious collective management problems”, particularly in civil protection, firefighting, access to healthcare and social services.
Authorities also reported cases where owners request utilities such as water or electricity for wells, and later install mobile homes or temporarily remove structures during inspections only to reinstall them afterwards.
While acknowledging the ongoing housing crisis in Portugal and the Algarve, Sintra said some residents are using it to “invoke rights” to occupy land. However, she insisted the council “cannot allow illegal, scattered housing” and remains committed to finding lawful solutions to housing needs.
