Flagpole installation and permits in Portugal

Putting up a flagpole raises three questions: whether the work needs municipal control, where the pole stands and how it is fixed. In Portugal there is no specific law for flagpoles. The legal regime for urban development and building (RJUE), each municipality’s urban development and building regulations and, in buildings divided into flats, the Civil Code apply. This guide summarises those rules and the technical questions of the foundation.

What the RJUE says

The RJUE (Decreto-Lei n.º 555/99) defines in article 6-A the works of minor urban relevance, which are exempt from a licence and from prior notification. The list includes, for example, structures up to 2.2 metres high and 10 square metres, boundary walls up to 1.8 metres and garden greenhouses. Flagpoles are not on the list. Paragraph (i), however, adds other works classified as such in municipal regulations, and paragraph 3 allows the municipal regulations to set limits beyond those in the law.

In practice, the position of a flagpole therefore depends on the municipal urban development and building regulations of the municipality. Even works exempt from prior control are subject to the applicable legal and regulatory rules, including municipal land-use plans. The câmara municipal can give an answer in each individual case.

Listed buildings

Article 6-A(2) excludes from the exemption works and installations:

• on buildings listed or being listed, of national or public interest;
• on buildings in the protection zones of listed buildings;
• on buildings forming part of listed ensembles or sites.

In many historic centres, a flagpole or a façade pole is therefore subject to control, however small.

Buildings in a condominium

In a building divided into flats (propriedade horizontal), a façade pole or a rooftop pole affects the common parts and the building’s appearance. Article 1422 of the Civil Code prohibits owners from impairing, through new works, the safety, the architectural line or the aesthetic appearance of the building. Works that change the architectural line or aesthetic appearance may only be carried out with the prior authorisation of the condominium assembly, approved by a majority representing two thirds of the total value of the building.

Where the pole stands

For the national flag on public buildings, article 9 of Decreto-Lei n.º 150/87 provides for flagpoles to stand in a place of honour on the ground, on façades or on top of buildings, and for the heads of the services to approve the form and place of fixing. At a house, the choice of site takes into account the view, room for the flag to move without touching trees, roofs or walls, and the distance to power lines.

According to E-REDES, in work with cranes and loads near overhead lines a distance of 3 metres is kept from the conductors of lines up to 60 kV and 5 metres from higher-voltage lines. The subject is covered in the guide to flagpole safety.

Foundation

A ground-mounted pole is fixed in a concrete foundation, with a buried sleeve or a bolted base. The manufacturer states the foundation dimensions according to the height of the pole, the size of the flag and the wind action. According to the National Annex to the standard for calculating wind actions, zone B, with higher wind values, covers a 5 km coastal strip exposed to sea wind, the Azores, Madeira and areas above 600 metres in altitude.

Buried cables

Digging for the foundation, and for any lighting cable, can reach buried electricity cables. E-REDES asks to be contacted before drilling or digging, to find out whether there are cables nearby. According to E-REDES, buried cables are approached only with hand tools, such as a spade or hoe, and a pickaxe is not allowed; within 1.5 metres of the cables, the work is supervised by a qualified person. In the Azores and Madeira, the electricity network is run by regional companies.

Assembly

The shorter ground-mounted poles can be raised by two or three people. Taller ones, and poles on top of buildings, need lifting equipment and work at height, and are often installed by the supplier. Transport is described in the guide to flagpole transport, and the choice of height in the guide to flagpole heights.