Roofs in Funchal: mild climate, red tile and the PRESERVA programme
IPMA records no frost in Funchal, and the annual mean is 20 °C. The PDM lets the council limit roof changes next to the historic street lines.
- Town
- Funchal
- District
- Madeira
The roofs of Funchal
Funchal has 28,018 buildings in the 2021 Census. 27.5% date from before 1961 and 83.7% were built by 2000. 5.9% need deep repair, the highest value among the towns on this site (country: 4.6%). INE measures the whole building, not only the roof.
An article from the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto, citing the study by Victor Mestre, links the image of the Madeiran popular house to eaves and under-eaves in red ceramic or to thatch, with white lime walls. The same article illustrates the elementary house with a tile roof (Fajã da Ovelha) and with thatch (Camacha): tile and vegetable roofing coexisted.
We found no official sources on sea salt, slopes and wind as wear factors for Funchal roofs. We do not claim them here.
SourcesIPMA, normal Funchal · FAUP, article on the Madeiran house · Funchal PDM, Aviso 53/2018 (JORAM) · Funchal council, PRESERVA · INE, Census 2021 (0011482)
The buildings of Funchal
28,018 buildings counted in 2021
- 83.7% built up to 2000 (country: 82.1%)
- 27.5% built before 1961 (country: 23.1%)
- 5.9% with deep repair needs (country: 4.6%)
The vertical mark on each bar is the share for the whole country.
Source: INE (Statistics Portugal), Census 2021, indicator 0011482, updated 12/11/2022. CC BY licence. The figures are for whole buildings, not roofs. An old building may have a renewed roof, and a recent building can have problems. The repair need is for the whole building, as assessed in the Census.
Rain, wind and sun in Funchal
At the IPMA station in Funchal (1991-2020) average rainfall is 574.3 mm a year and the mean temperature is 20.0 °C, with mean highs of 22.9 °C and lows of 17.0 °C. July and August have almost no rain (1.7 and 1.3 mm). There are 18.4 days a year with 10 mm or more and 3.9 with 30 mm or more.
The station records no sub-zero readings: 0.0 frost days a year and a minimum of 8.5 °C, in March 2011. The heaviest daily rain was 158.6 mm, on 26 November 2010. Here the risk is not ice but the water of a few very strong days in a hillside city.
Houses and roofs in Funchal
Traditional houses
The Madeiran popular house is associated with lime walls and eaves with red ceramic under-eaves, according to the FAUP article. On steep slopes, water running off the roof needs a gutter and somewhere to go.
Historic centre
The Historic Centre of Funchal is a rehabilitation area with a Systematic Urban Rehabilitation Operation (Aviso 14539/2014). The PDM gives the council power to limit roofs next to historic street lines, as explained below.
Rules and permits in Funchal
In Funchal’s PDM (Aviso 53/2018, article 66(3)), for works on buildings fronting historic urban street lines (for example Rua da Carreira and Rua Direita), the council may require rehabilitation and limit volume and the occupation and transformation of roofs.
The Historic Centre is a rehabilitation area, and in 2026 the council used the systematic operation to expropriate a property on Rua da Infância (Resolution 8/2026). We did not read the PDM regulation end to end, nor that of the rehabilitation area, and we found no specific tile colour or material rule.
Areas near Funchal
Do you not live in Funchal itself? These are the places around it. Each has its own page.
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PRESERVA programme and the 2026 storms
Funchal’s municipal PRESERVA programme gives non-repayable grants of up to 8,000 euros for maintenance of homes of households in need. According to the council page, since 18 July 2026 there is no fixed application deadline. Check the conditions with the council.
Funchal is not among the 22 additional municipalities of Despacho 2389-A/2026, which speaks of the mainland. Decree-Law 79-A/2026 extends support to any part of the territory with special and abnormal damage between 28 January and 15 February 2026, but the text we read does not name Madeira. We found no official data on damaged roofs in Funchal.
General notes
No. At the IPMA station in Funchal (1991-2020) there are 0.0 frost days a year and the lowest recorded temperature was 8.5 °C, in March 2011.
It is a municipal programme in Funchal that gives non-repayable grants of up to 8,000 euros for maintenance of homes of households in need. Since 18 July 2026 there is no fixed application deadline, according to the council. Ask the council whether a roof is eligible.
For buildings fronting historic street lines such as Rua da Carreira and Rua Direita, the PDM lets the council limit the transformation of roofs. Ask the council for guidance before any work and see the permit guide.
Funchal is not on the list of Despacho 2389-A/2026, which covers the mainland. We found no official data on roof damage in Funchal. See the aid guide for what applies.
Related guides
- Roof tile types and climate in Portugal: frost, salt, wind, heat and snowThe five clay tile formats (lusa, marselha, canudo, romana, plana), what the climate asks of each tile and the questions to ask before buying. With a quick check by zone.11 min
- Roof leaks: common causes and how to find where the water gets inBroken tiles, mortared ridges, flashings, gutters, flat roofs and pipes: how to trace a ceiling stain without climbing onto the roof, and how to tell a leak from condensation.9 min
- Permit to change the roof: what changed on 1 October 2026What the revised RJUE (Decreto-Lei 108/2026) says about roof works: exempt maintenance and reconstruction, material swaps, what still needs a procedure and how to ask the council.8 min
- Home insurance and storms: what it covers on the roof, deadlines and exclusionsTime to notify the insurer, time to pay, what multi-risk cover usually includes, exclusions that catch many people and why a declared calamity does not remove cover.8 min
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