Rural land in Brazil: restrictions for foreigners

What counts as rural

Lei 5.709 applies to a rural property, not to an urban lot or an apartment; the line between the two follows the property record and the rural land registry, not the look of the land. If the matrícula (property record) describes a rural property or the owner is registered with INCRA, assume the rural rules apply, and check the municipality’s classification with the registry. The urban rules are in buying property in Brazil as a foreigner.

The core rules

The Constitution (art. 190) provides that the law “shall regulate and limit” the purchase or lease of rural property by foreign individuals or companies and set the cases that need the authorisation of the National Congress.

Who is covered. Article 1 of Lei 5.709: the foreigner “resident in the country” and the foreign company authorised to operate in Brazil “may only acquire rural property in the manner provided in this law”. The law lays out no route for a foreign individual who does not live in Brazil; the decree even requires the deed to contain “proof of residence in the national territory” (art. 10, II). That is Payotte’s reading of articles 1 and 10, not a sentence stating that a non-resident cannot buy. Check it with a lawyer registered with the OAB and with the registry before any commitment.

Brazilian companies with foreign control. Art. 1, § 1 extends the regime to a Brazilian company in which foreigners who live or have their seat abroad hold most of the capital. The Federal Council of the OAB reported that on 23 April 2026 the Supreme Federal Court (STF) unanimously rejected ADPF 342, which challenged these limits, and upheld ACO 2463, validating the 2008 opinion of the Attorney-General’s Office (AGU). Payotte could not read the STF pages (they refused access) or the judgment, which according to the OAB notice had not been drafted yet. INCRA’s page says the AGU opinion concluded that this paragraph was received by the 1988 Constitution.

Exceptions (art. 1, § 2, added by Lei 13.986/2020): lawful succession (subject to art. 7), the creation of a security interest including fiduciary transfer, and similar cases. See inheriting Brazilian property from abroad.

Size thresholds

A foreign company needs the Congress’s authorisation for an area above 100 MEI (Lei 8.629, art. 23, § 2). Leases follow the same limits (art. 23).

The size of a module is fixed by INCRA for each region (Decreto 74.965, art. 4). Payotte did not read the INCRA tables, so it does not convert modules to hectares: ask INCRA or the registry for the module of the municipality concerned.

Municipal cap

Article 12: foreign individuals and companies together may not own more than 1/4 of a municipality’s surface; people of the same nationality may not own more than 40% of that quarter. Excluded from the cap: areas under 3 modules and acquisitions by a buyer married to a Brazilian under a community-property regime, or with Brazilian children (art. 12, § 2). The cap is proved by a certificate from the real estate registry. The married-to-a-Brazilian detail is covered in buying with a foreign spouse.

Procedure and consequences

• The authorisation, once granted, is valid for 30 days to sign the deed, and the registration then has 15 days (Decreto 74.965, art. 10, sole paragraph).
• The deed must be a public deed (art. 8) and must mention the buyer’s identity, proof of residence and the INCRA authorisation (decree art. 10).
• An acquisition that violates the law is “void” (nula de pleno direito); the notary and registrar answer civilly for damage and the seller must return the price (art. 15).
• Rural land inside the 150 km border strip also needs separate consent: border strip rules.

What is only proposed

PL 2.963/2019, which would regulate art. 190 of the Constitution, passed the Senate and went to the Chamber of Deputies, where on the day Payotte read the data it was awaiting the creation of a temporary committee (last act 25 April 2024). It is a bill, not a rule: nothing in it applies today.

Which professional to consult

A lawyer registered with the OAB who works on rural property, a land surveyor or an engineer for the area, and the local registry office (cartório de registro de imóveis) for the foreign-ownership certificate. See the property lawyer page.