BRAZIL Law and Practice Contributed by: Alberto Malta, Davi Ory, Ana Vogado and Maria Eduarda Amaral, Malta Advogados
istration, the STJ has ruled that wronged ten - ants can only seek damages and not property adjudication. For the validity clause to protect against property sale, registration must be completed according to Article 167, I, 3 of the Public Records Law. Rural lease registration confers no additional benefits, but it remains advisable to publicise the relationship and prevent conflicts with good faith purchasers. While legislation doesn’t specify who bears reg - istration costs, tenants typically pay as primary beneficiaries of the protections. 6.21 Forced Eviction Forced eviction of rented property depends on a court decision in an eviction lawsuit, which can be taken in the event of default, termination of the contract or the tenant’s refusal to return the property at the end of the contract. Law No 8,245/1991 provides for eviction by final ruling (30-day deadline) or preliminary injunction (15-day deadline). For injunctive relief, land - lords must provide security equivalent to three months’ rent and meet specific requirements under Article 59(1), including non-payment without guarantees, voluntary vacation notice or expiration of fixed-term contracts. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Emergency Legal Regime suspended evictions for vulner - able tenants, but these exceptional measures have expired. No extraordinary restrictions cur - rently apply. 6.22 Termination by a Third Party Although infrequent, rural lease and rental agree - ments in Brazil can be terminated by third par -
ties, especially by public authorities, in the fol - lowing cases: • expropriation for public necessity, public util - ity or social interest; • expropriation sanction of underused urban properties or unproductive rural land under the City Statute and the Land Statute; and • administrative requisition for temporary use in emergencies. Owners receive compensation, which must be prior and fair in traditional expropriation cases and subsequent in administrative requisitions. The lessee or tenant can claim damages for possession interruption or goodwill losses. Evic - tion timelines vary by procedure type (judicial or administrative) and case complexity, with no standard duration. 6.23 Remedies/Damages for Breach In case of tenant default, landlords in Brazil may seek remedies such as fixed contractual penal - ties (eg, three months’ rent) or proportional to the remaining term, with built-to-suit contracts often imposing fines equal to all outstanding rent, plus compensation for property damage beyond normal wear, repair costs and late pay - ment penalties. Although there is no legal cap on compensa - tion, courts assess reasonableness on a case- by-case basis. Landlords may also enforce guarantees (cash deposit, surety, bank guar - antee) and initiate extrajudicial enforcement based on the lease’s executive title and protest unpaid amounts. In exceptional cases, courts may award goodwill losses, but the landlord’s duty to mitigate damages can limit recovery if reasonable steps to reduce losses are not taken.
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