Portuguese municipal councils have been hit with 7,475 citizen complaints in the last four years, according to a new study by consumer platform Portal da Queixa. The study, covering October 2021 to September 2025, highlights serious concerns around safety, poor service quality and lack of cleanliness in public spaces.
The findings come just days before voters head to the polls for the 2025 local elections, scheduled for Sunday, October 12.
Safety is at the heart of almost half of complaints (47.46%), covering issues such as traffic rule violations, poor signage, badly parked vehicles, unsafe infrastructure and environmental risks.
Over one quarter of the complaints (27.48%) are related to the poor quality of municipal services, from slow responses and poor customer service to lack of transparency and failure to respect opening hours.
Hygiene and maintenance problems account for 12.34% of complaints, namely concerning urban cleaning and water quality.
Other issues raised by citizens include administrative and financial matters (3.34%), infrastructure problems (2%) and lack of accessibility and inclusion (1.59%).
The Portuguese capital of Lisbon received the most complaints (22.54%), followed by Almada (8.96%), Loures (4.46%), Vila Nova de Gaia (3.68%), Seixal (3.18%), Cascais (3.16%), Sintra (2.98%), Porto (2.54%), Matosinhos (2.20%), and Sesimbra (2.06%).
Despite the complaints, some municipalities scored high on satisfaction. Sesimbra leads with 85 points (out of 100), followed by Nazaré (83.4), Alcochete (82.5), Tavira (81.9), and Matosinhos (80.6).
Most complaints came from the Lisbon region (40.12%), followed by Setúbal (18.40%) and Porto (17.11%). Most complaints were made by men (56.78%), and the most active age group was 45 to 54 years old (28.61%).
“These results reflect a clear gap between citizens’ expectations and the ability of many councils to respond,” says Pedro Lourenço, founder of Portal da Queixa.
“The high percentage of safety-related complaints shows there are structural flaws directly affecting quality of life in our cities. On the other hand, the examples of councils with high satisfaction prove it is possible to create management models that are closer, more efficient and more transparent. The challenge is to turn these cases of success into references for the whole country,” he adds.
More information on the “Local Councils” category can be found on Portal da Queixa.
