Sao Paulo Building Department & Construction Information

Hello Michael and welcome to Expat.com!

Hope that you'll soon be enlightened.

Wish you Good Luck,
Harmonie.

Hi Michael,

Sorry to burst your bubble, but here in Brazil the construction sector is nothing at all like that in North America. The city government does not play the crucial role in construction as it does there. Essentially the city only issues building permits. Privately contracted Architects and Civil Engineers make up construction blueprints and specifications one generally contracts them then submits the plans to the city for permit issue. From that point the city has little involvement. Inspection of the work in progress is hit and miss at best and essentially contracters are left to police themselves. I don't think the city department could help you with any information.

If you are looking simply for work in construction and want to know about qualification requirements I think they are really FEW. You might want to check out the Construction Workers' Union website (in Portuguese) at the following link. Perhaps if you get in contact with SINTRACON-SP they can give you more information.

http://www.sintraconsp.org.br/

If you are looking to set up a construction company I have no idea where you could get information regarding either the qualifications or the process.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog