Brazil's tenancy law: what Lei 8.245 says

What the Act covers, and what it leaves out

Article 1 says urban leases follow this Act. It then lists what stays under the Civil Code and special laws instead: property owned by the Union, states and municipalities; stand-alone garage spaces; advertising space; and stays in apart-hotels and similar services that are licensed as such. A furnished flat let like a normal home is inside the Act; a hotel-style serviced room is not. The Act is mandatory: article 45 makes void any clause that tries to defeat its aims, for example one that bans the extension the Act provides or charges money for waiving it.

Term of the lease

• Article 3: any term may be agreed, but a lease of ten years or more needs the spouse’s consent (vênia conjugal). Without it, the spouse is not bound beyond ten years.
• Article 46: a lease in writing for 30 months or more ends at its term “independently of notice”. If the tenant stays more than 30 days afterwards without objection, it is presumed extended for an indefinite period, and the landlord may then end it at any time with 30 days to vacate.
• Article 47: a lease agreed orally, or in writing for less than 30 months, rolls over automatically for an indefinite period. The landlord may retake the property only in the cases listed: breach or non-payment (article 9), end of an employment tied to the home, the landlord’s own use or use by an ascendant or descendant who has no home of their own, approved demolition or works that enlarge the built area by at least 20 percent, or when the lease has run more than five years without interruption.

The tenant, by contrast, can leave an open-ended lease with 30 days’ written notice (article 6); see ending a lease early.

Rent and what each side pays

Rent is freely agreed, but foreign currency and links to exchange rates or the minimum wage are forbidden (article 17), and the landlord may not demand rent in advance except where the Act allows it (articles 20 and 42; short stays are treated in short-term rentals). How rent is updated is covered in rent adjustment.

The landlord pays (article 22): brokerage and agency fees, including checking the applicant and the guarantor; taxes and the fire-insurance supplement on the property “unless the contract says otherwise”; and extraordinary condominium costs (structural works, façade painting, safety equipment, reserve-fund creation and similar). The tenant pays (article 23): rent and charges on time, the ordinary condominium costs (staff, common-area utilities, routine upkeep, reserve-fund top-ups), the utility bills in the unit, and the premium of a rental-guarantee insurance. The tenant may demand proof of the budget line and monthly apportionment of condominium charges at any time (article 23, paragraph 2). The tenant must give the property back as received, apart from normal wear (article 23, III), and may not change its form without the landlord’s written consent.

Selling the home during the lease

If the property is sold, the tenant has a right of first refusal on equal terms (article 27). The landlord must notify the tenant of every condition of the deal, and the tenant has 30 days to accept in full (article 28). A tenant who was bypassed can claim damages, or deposit the price and take the property, within six months of registration of the sale, but only if the lease was entered in the matrícula (property record) at least 30 days before the sale (article 33). Without such an entry, the new owner may end the lease with 90 days’ notice, unless it is a fixed-term lease with a clause saying it survives a sale and that clause is registered (article 8).

Other rules a foreign tenant meets

• Subletting, assigning the lease or lending the home needs the landlord’s prior written consent; silence is not consent (article 13). The landlord has 30 days to object once notified.
• If the landlord dies, the lease passes to the heirs; if the tenant dies, the surviving spouse or partner takes over in a residential lease (articles 10 and 11). After separation or divorce, the lease continues automatically with the partner who stays (article 12).
• Improvements: necessary improvements are refundable even without authorisation, useful ones if authorised, unless the contract says otherwise (article 35).
• It is a criminal contravention for a landlord to demand money beyond the rent and permitted charges, more than one type of guarantee, or advance rent outside the allowed cases (article 43).

Which professional to consult

A lawyer registered with the OAB can review a lease before signing and explain how the Act applies to your case; see the property lawyer page. A licensed real-estate broker handles the search and the paperwork on the landlord’s side; see the real estate broker page. For a lease that will be registered, the cartório of the property record is the place to ask. If you are a foreigner renting, read renting a home in Brazil as a foreigner too.