Lisbon's Assembly Clears Airport Noise Grants of Up to 1,000 Euros a Home, Enough for About 3,600 of the 100,000 Homes on the Noise Map

Homes in Lisbon exposed to noise from Humberto Delgado airport are a step closer to help with new windows. The Assembleia Municipal de Lisboa (Lisbon Municipal Assembly) on Tuesday approved the city's rules for the Programa Menos Ruído (Less Noise Programme), which pays part of the cost of soundproofing. The money will stretch to about 3,600 homes, the council says, out of the roughly 100,000 on the airport's noise map in the city, according to Lusa, as reported by Notícias ao Minuto (in Portuguese).

The regulation passed with votes in favour from PSD, CDS-PP, IL, Chega, PS and Livre, and abstentions from BE, PCP, PEV and PAN.

How much a home can get

Lisbon has 2,798,730 euros from the Fundo Ambiental (Environmental Fund) for work on homes in the zones most exposed to aircraft noise, chiefly replacing or upgrading windows, window frames and roller-shutter boxes. When the city council (Câmara Municipal de Lisboa) approved the rules in July, Lusa reported via Observador (in Portuguese) that the grant depends on how high a home ranks in priority:

• up to 1,000 euros for very high priority;
• up to 800 euros for high priority;
• up to 600 euros for moderate priority.

The money is normally paid back after the work is done. The councillor in charge, Vasco Anjos, told the assembly that 20 percent of the funds are set aside for households on low incomes, which get a grant 20 percent higher and receive 80 percent of it before they spend anything, with the rest paid once the new windows are checked. Over the river, Almada's version of the scheme offers up to 5,000 euros a home.

Who qualifies

The programme was created by the government in March 2025 with 10 million euros for four councils: Lisbon, Loures, Vila Franca de Xira and Almada. The government's announcement of the council agreements (in Portuguese) sets the ground rules every council must follow:

• only permanent homes qualify, and commercial premises are excluded;
• buildings that have recently had acoustic insulation work, or already have high-performance windows, are left out;
• the noisiest areas come first.

The target is homes exposed to day-evening-night noise of 55 dB(A) or more, or night noise of 45 dB(A) or more, as the Vila Franca de Xira council's published regulation (in Portuguese) sets out from the government resolution.

When applications open

Not yet. The four councils signed their agreements with the Fundo Ambiental only on 22 January 2026, so none of the 2025 money was spent. Resolução do Conselho de Ministros n.º 126/2026 (in Portuguese) moved the programme to 2026 and 2027, with up to 5 million euros in each year, and told the councils to open their application rounds by 30 December 2026 at the latest. Lisbon has not yet announced a date. The council has also asked the government for more money in 2027.

Too little, says the opposition

Several parties argued that ANA, the airport operator, should pay. The PS group pointed out that the airport's earlier noise action plan made ANA responsible for some soundproofing work, an obligation it said "will not have been fully met". The PCP noted that the money covers about 3.7 percent of the exposed homes and leaves out schools and other public buildings. The assembly also passed a Livre recommendation, opposed by PSD, CDS-PP and IL, asking the council to press the government and ANA for more money under the polluter-pays principle. In July, Livre estimated that soundproofing the windows of a two- or three-bedroom flat costs 6,000 to 12,000 euros.

Separately, Lisbon's northbound departures are due to switch to a new track by the end of the year, which is meant to spare about 35,000 residents, and the airport has a record of night-flight violations.

What to do now

• If you own or rent a permanent home under the flight path in Lisbon, watch the council's website for the application notice, which has to be out by 30 December.
• Keep your window and shutter invoices: in most cases the grant is paid back after the work.
• If you live in Almada, Loures or Vila Franca de Xira, your own council runs its own round with its own amounts.