Installing a flagpole in Brazil: permit, condominium and foundation

Flying a flag needs no permit: Law 5,700 allows the flag to be used on public or private buildings (article 11). The flagpole is another matter. A fixed pole in the ground, with a concrete foundation, is a work, and works are regulated by the municipality. In a condominium, the condominium’s rules and the Civil Code also apply. This guide brings together the points that matter for installation, with São Paulo’s Building Code as the example.

The municipality’s powers

Under article 30 of the Constitution, municipalities legislate on matters of local interest and promote, where appropriate, proper land-use planning through planning and controlling the use, division and occupation of urban land. There is no federal rule on flagpoles: each city decides, in its building code and its land-use laws, whether a flagpole needs a permit.

The example of São Paulo

Law 16,642 of 9 May 2017, the Building and Construction Code (Código de Obras e Edificações) of the Municipality of São Paulo, governs the design, licensing, execution, maintenance and use of works, buildings and equipment within the limits of a property. Under article 12, building activity is subject to control through a permit, certificate, authorisation or registration, depending on the type of work, service and equipment.

The code does not mention flagpoles. Article 13 lists what is not subject to licensing, among other things:

• repair and cleaning work and services;
• internal alterations that do not change the structure;
• works and services of low urban impact, which include, among others, ancillary works of up to 30 square metres, walls on the street line and boundary walls, retaining walls up to 2 metres, ornamental pools, wells and septic tanks, and residential swimming pools.

As the list is illustrative and does not mention flagpoles, it is for the city hall to say whether a flagpole counts as a low-impact work or needs a permit. A work on a property under preservation or in its surrounding area is not considered low-impact (paragraph 2). Under article 7, applications for control documents are signed by the owner or occupier together with a qualified professional, and article 10 points out that the city does not take responsibility for the stability of the building and equipment.

Under article 14, building activity on property of the Union, the state and the municipality does not need the code’s documents, but follows its provisions. For poles with a company flag, the Clean City Law has rules of its own, covered in the guide to flagpoles for businesses.

Condominiums

In a condominium, the decision does not rest with the city hall alone. Under article 1,336(III) of the Civil Code, each unit owner has a duty not to alter the shape and colour of the façade or of the external parts and frames, and item II prohibits works that compromise the building’s safety. A pole fixed to the façade or balcony may therefore depend on the condominium’s rules and general meeting. The rules may also contain provisions of their own on flags in windows and on balconies.

The foundation

The foundation is sized in the structural design, according to the height of the pole, the size of the flag, the wind and the soil. The manufacturers’ sheets show the two ways of connecting the pole:

• embedded: on B&B Iluminação’s pole, 1 metre of the tube sits in the foundation;
• flanged: the base plate, 200 to 330 millimetres a side depending on the height, is fixed to the foundation by L-shaped anchor bolts, with slotted holes for levelling.

Manufacturers design poles to NBR 6123, on wind forces. The guide to flagpole safety covers wind and lightning.

Buried and overhead networks

Before the foundation hole is dug, the networks underground and overhead come into play:

• gas: in Comgás’s area, in São Paulo, the company offers a network search at nossarede.comgas.com.br and, on Comgás Virtual, the download of network records and requests for technical guidance. According to its guidance material, the safety margin for using machinery is 1 metre on each side of the pipe for excavation and 2 metres for trenchless methods. If the network is damaged, the emergency line is 08000 110 197, option 1;
• power: Neoenergia Elektro states that walls, balconies and roofs may not be built less than 2.5 metres from the power grid and that antennas are installed at a safe distance so that, if they fall, they do not touch the wires. Like an antenna, a metal flagpole is tall and can fall.

In other cities, the local gas and power distribution companies can provide information on their networks.

Flagpoles at public buildings

At public offices, the size of the flag follows article 21 of Law 5,700: on a pole in the ground, the width is between one seventh and one fifth of the height. The guide to flagpole heights applies this rule.