On May 15, 2026, the president of the Regional Government of Madeira, Miguel Albuquerque, called for changes to Portugal’s rental law that would allow tenants who fail to pay rent to be evicted the next day. He said the measure would ease pressure on the housing market, especially at a time when access to affordable rental housing is very limited. Speaking at the University of Madeira, he argued that unpaid rent should lead to immediate removal and that landlords should not be expected to provide social services. Albuquerque linked Madeira’s housing crisis to legal barriers and long court delays that make it difficult to remove tenants who stop paying. He made the comments on the sidelines of a conference organized by the Mission Structure for the 50th anniversary of Madeira’s autonomy at the University of Funchal, where the event focused on health policy and public debate. The article notes that, in Madeira as in the rest of Portugal and most developed countries, evictions still require formal procedures such as warnings, hearings, appeals, and waiting periods. It also warns that faster evictions could hit vulnerable renters hardest, including single mothers, pensioners, low-income workers, and families living only from retirement income, while finding another affordable home in the island region remains increasingly difficult.
