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Land clearing

Land clearing and fuel-management strips in the Algarve

Brush cutting, pruning and spacing of trees and removal of the cuttings, to meet the fuel-management strip law and protect your house from wildfire. Silves, Lagoa, Portimão, Monchique, Aljezur and the whole Algarve. Free quote.

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Land clearing and fuel-management strips in the Algarve

Book your 2027 clearing now

The legal deadline for having the fuel-management strips cleared is 30 April. In the weeks before it we get more requests than we can take, and during the critical fire period, normally 1 July to 30 September, the use of machinery on scrubland is restricted. Booking now secures a date in winter or early spring and avoids the April rush.

A cleared strip around the house is what buys the firefighters time

Anyone with a house or plot in a rural area is required by law to keep a 50-metre strip clear around buildings, and 100 metres around villages, industrial parks and campsites. Inside that strip the scrub must be kept low, tree crowns spaced from each other and from the house, and low branches removed.

Clearing properly is not running a brush cutter through and leaving everything on the ground. We cut low without turning the soil, prune and space the trees, and mulch or remove the cuttings, so the plot is not a carpet of dry straw again by June. The first clearing of an abandoned plot is the heavy one; after that, one pass a year is enough.

A cleared strip around the house is what buys the firefighters time

What is included

  • Brush and grass cutting

    With a brush cutter on small, sloping or wooded plots, and with a tractor and flail mower on large, flat ones.

  • Fuel-management strips

    The 50 metres around houses and 100 metres around villages, to the legal criteria: scrub under 50 centimetres and spaced crowns.

  • Tree pruning and spacing

    We remove low branches up to 4 metres and open space between crowns; pines or eucalyptus too close to the house are felled.

  • Mulching and removal of cuttings

    The cut scrub and branches are mulched and spread in a thin layer, or taken off the plot. Never left in piles.

  • Overgrown plots and garden clearance

    Brambles, rock rose, gorse and cane with years of growth, on plots for sale, for building or for farming again.

  • Yearly maintenance

    One pass a year, in March or April, so the plot stays within the law with less work and lower cost.

Before and after

Drag to compare before and after

  • Land clearing 1 (After)
    Land clearing 1 (Before)
  • Land clearing 2 (After)
    Land clearing 2 (Before)
  • Land clearing 3 (After)
    Land clearing 3 (Before)
  • Land clearing 4 (After)
    Land clearing 4 (Before)

When to call us

You need to clear the plot when:

  • You have received a notice from the council or the GNR to clear
  • The scrub around the house is over 50 centimetres or reaches the walls
  • Pine or eucalyptus crowns are touching each other or hanging over the roof
  • The plot has been abandoned for years and you can no longer walk into it
  • You are selling, building on or bringing back a rural plot
  • The neighbour's plot is inside your 50 metres and has not been cleared

How the job runs

Four steps, with the price agreed before we start

  1. 01

    Visit and measuring

    We measure the mandatory strip, identify the trees to keep, prune or fell, and check access for the machines.

  2. 02

    Cutting

    Brush cutter or tractor depending on the terrain, cut low without turning the soil. Around cork oaks and watercourses we work by hand.

  3. 03

    Trees

    Pruning up to 4 metres, spacing between crowns and felling of the trees the law does not allow next to the house.

  4. 04

    Cuttings and handover

    Mulched in a thin layer or removed, and the plot is ready for inspection.

What affects the price

The price of clearing a plot depends on:

  • Area to clear: large plots have a lower price per square metre
  • Density and height of the scrub: tall brambles, rock rose and gorse take far longer than grass
  • Slope and rocks: where the tractor cannot go, it is all brush cutter
  • How many trees need pruning or felling, and which species
  • Access for the machines to reach the plot
  • Whether the cuttings are mulched on site or taken away

On plots abandoned for years the first clearing is the heavy one, and yearly maintenance after that costs far less. Send photos of the plot and its location by WhatsApp and you get a quote the same day.

Where we do this work

We clear plots in Silves, Monchique, Lagoa, Portimão, Lagos, Aljezur and the whole Algarve, for villas, farms, rural plots and condominiums.

  • Silves
  • Lagoa
  • Portimão
  • Albufeira
  • Lagos
  • Monchique
  • Loulé
  • Faro
  • Vila do Bispo
  • Aljezur

Gallery

Common questions

Answers before you call

When do I have to clear the plot by?
The legal deadline is 30 April each year. In several years it was extended to 31 May, but do not count on it: book the clearing for winter or early spring. After the deadline the council can clear and charge you the cost, on top of the fine.
What strip am I required to clear?
50 metres around houses and other buildings in rural areas, measured from the outside wall, and 100 metres around villages, industrial parks and campsites. The strip does not stop at your fence: if the neighbour's plot falls inside it, clearing it is their obligation.
Can I clear the plot in summer?
During the critical fire period, normally 1 July to 30 September, burning is not allowed and the use of machinery on scrubland is limited to certain hours and conditions. That is why the clearing should be done by April.
What is the fine for not clearing?
For private individuals it runs from 280 to 10,000 euros, and for companies from 1,600 to 120,000 euros. If a fire starts on an uncleared plot, civil and, in serious cases, criminal liability is added.
Do all the trees have to go?
No. Well-spaced and pruned olive, carob, cork oak and fruit trees can stay. What the law requires is crowns at least 4 metres apart, 10 metres for pines and eucalyptus, and no branch over the roof.

Services

Get a free quote

Send photos on WhatsApp or fill in the form. We reply the same day.

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