Using the FGTS to buy a home in Brazil

The three uses

Article 20 sets three housing uses:

• Buying a home (item VII): payment of all or part of the purchase price of “moradia própria” (the worker’s own home), provided the buyer has at least three years of work under the FGTS regime, with the same or different employers, and the operation is financeable on the conditions in force for the SFH (SFH versus SFI).
• Paying instalments (item V): payment of part of the instalments of an SFH loan. The law requires three years of FGTS work, at least 12 months of use, and a maximum of 80% of the instalment.
• Prepaying or settling the loan (item VI): early repayment or reduction of the balance of a loan within the SFH, with a minimum two-year interval between each use.

The manual’s conditions

The law is applied through rules of the FGTS Board and the operating agent. The operating agent’s manual in force from 2 December 2025 (version 035) says the worker must:

1. have 03 years of work under the FGTS regime, adding periods, consecutive or not (4.3.1.1);
2. not hold an active SFH loan anywhere in Brazil (4.3.1.2);
3. not own, possess, hold a promise to buy, hold a usufruct over or be assignee of another residential property, finished or under construction, in the municipality of their main work, nor in the municipality of their residence, in either case including neighbouring municipalities and those in the same metropolitan region (4.3.1.3).

The law itself, article 20 paragraph 17, is narrower: it bars the use where the buyer already owns or has a promise to buy a property in the municipality where he lives, or already has at least one SFH loan anywhere in the country. The extension to the place of work, neighbouring municipalities and the metropolitan region comes from the regulation and manual, not from the statute.

The property must be urban and residential, intended as the worker’s home, and its appraised value must not exceed the SFH ceiling (R$ 2,250,000 since 10 October 2025, per Resolução CMN 5.255). It must also be in the municipality of the worker’s main activity, or in the municipality of residence for at least one year, again with neighbouring and metropolitan municipalities included (manual 4.11).

Waiting periods

The manual sets intervals: the same worker cannot buy another property with FGTS less than three years after a previous use for a purchase (counted, for finished property, from the registration date of the deed or contract), and amortizations or settlements need two years between uses by the same worker. Since 9 September 2021, a worker with more than one SFH loan cannot use the FGTS on any of them (manual 3.8.5).

How the balance is used in a purchase

When the conditions are met, the FGTS balance reduces the cash the buyer must bring: it counts toward the part of the price not covered by the loan, which the rules limit to 20% of the appraisal (or 10% under SAC), as explained in how mortgages work. The balance accepted is decided by the operating agent on the worker’s statement, and the purchase costs described in closing costs in Brazil are separate.

What it means for foreigners

The FGTS belongs to workers in the Brazilian employment system. A foreign buyer who is not and has not been employed in Brazil under that regime has no FGTS balance and the programme conditions do not apply. A foreigner who works in Brazil under an employment contract may have one; Payotte did not find a nationality condition in the texts read, but the residence and location conditions above apply. Check the position with the operating agent. For the general purchase of a home by a foreigner, see buying property in Brazil as a foreigner.

The FGTS also finances the subsidised programme described in Minha Casa, Minha Vida.

How to proceed

1. Obtain a statement of the FGTS account and the employment record.
2. Confirm the property is urban, residential and within the SFH value ceiling.
3. Declare the other-property status; the manual treats the home-purpose condition as a declaration by the worker.
4. The lender and the operating agent process the release at signing.

Which professional to consult

A mortgage lender or authorised correspondent will check the balance and conditions (mortgage lender); a lawyer registered with the OAB can advise where you own other property in the same area (property lawyer).