Renovating in Brazil: city permits, ART and RRT

1. The city permit

Building permits are municipal. Payotte read the page of one city, São Paulo. For an existing building, its Licensing Secretariat states that “on request the city issues an approval permit for a renovation” when the work “implies a change of built area, volume, change of structure, ceiling height or vertical compartmentalisation, with or without a change of use”. The fee (TEV/COE) is charged on the area to be renovated. The same page says that low-urban-impact works under the city’s Works Code can be done without licensing, but not works that change the structure of the building or that affect protected heritage property or its surroundings. The page does not list the documents required; it does not mention ART or RRT.

Other cities have their own codes and simplified procedures for small works. Before any work, ask the city’s licensing department whether your intervention needs a permit, a simple notification or nothing, and keep the answer in writing. Do not assume that São Paulo’s rules apply elsewhere.

2. ART: the engineers’ record

The CREA of Paraíba explains the ART, based on Lei 6.496/1977:

• it is the document that defines “for legal purposes” the technical persons responsible for an activity in the professions under the Confea/CREA system;
• the law made it mandatory “in every contract for execution of works or provision of services” of engineering, agronomy, geology, geography and meteorology, written or oral;
• it must be registered by the professional before the start of the activity, with the CREA of the region where the activity takes place;
• if the contract changes, the original ART must be replaced or complemented;
• lack of an ART exposes the professional or the company to a fine and other legal consequences;
• the professional and the client should keep the signed copies;
• the ART is valid only when paid, which can be checked on the CREA’s website.

The Confea site did not respond from this machine, so Payotte read a regional council’s page. The fee schedules are set by the councils, and Payotte gives no amounts.

3. RRT: the architects’ record

For architects and urbanists, the Architecture and Urbanism Council (CAU) runs the RRT under articles 45 to 50 of Lei 12.378/2010. Its Resolution 91/2014 (text read on the council’s transparency portal, including amendments up to Resolution 184/2019) says:

• design, execution of works and “any other technical services” in architecture and urbanism that involve activities reserved to architects, or shared with other professions, are subject to the RRT (article 1);
• the RRT is the architect’s obligation and cannot be transferred (article 5, citing Lei 12.378, article 47);
• timing: for the execution group the RRT must be made before the start of the activity; for design, by the end of the activity or before the plans are filed with an approving body or released; for other activities within 30 days of the start (article 2);
• the CAU of the state where the work is receives the fee and fines (article 10);
• lack of an RRT subjects the professional to a fine of 300 percent of the RRT fee, plus stopping the work until it is regularised (article 11); a late RRT costs the fee, an administrative fee equal to one fee, and the 300 percent fine (article 18);
• there are lighter modalities: a minimum RRT for interventions of up to 70 m² and a social RRT for low-income single-family homes of up to 100 m² linked to social housing (article 8).

4. Condominium and rental limits

In a condominium, an owner must not carry out works that endanger the building’s safety or change the façade and external frames (Civil Code, article 1.336, II and III). Within the building, works to common parts need votes: useful works by majority, voluptuary works by two-thirds, and necessary repairs can be done by the manager (article 1.341). Ask for the convention and the internal regulations before you plan any change, and for a written approval from the manager or the assembly. See condominium fees and rules.

A tenant cannot change the internal or external form of the property without the landlord’s prior written consent (Lei 8.245, article 23, VI). Necessary improvements are refundable even without authorisation, useful ones if authorised, unless the contract says otherwise (article 35); voluptuary ones are not refundable but can be removed if the structure is not affected (article 36). See Brazil’s tenancy law.

What the records do for you

The ART or RRT names who is technically responsible for the plans or the work. It does not replace the permit, and a permit does not replace the record. There is a tax reason to keep the paperwork: the Receita Federal’s 2026 guidance (question 671) says spending on construction, extension and renovation can be added to a property’s acquisition cost, for the capital-gains calculation when you sell, provided the projects were approved by the competent municipal bodies, the spending is proved by suitable documents, and it was listed in the tax return of the year it was incurred. Small works such as painting, plumbing and flooring can also count with the same proof. An unlicensed renovation is therefore a problem for the sale tax as well as for the city. See capital gains tax on property and declaring property in the income tax return.

Which professional to consult

An architect (registered with the CAU) or an engineer (registered with the CREA) designs and supervises the work; see the architect and engineer page. You can ask for the number of the ART or RRT and check it on the council’s own register, rather than relying on an intermediary. A lawyer registered with the OAB can check the convention and the contract; see the property lawyer page.