Countries › Brazil › Guide › 11. Real estate and land › Residential and commercial leases in Brazil: term, rent indexing, guarantees, renewal rights, built to suit and eviction

Residential and commercial leases in Brazil: term, rent indexing, guarantees, renewal rights, built to suit and eviction

Last verified: 2026-10-27 · Status: Stable

Urban leases in Brazil follow the Tenancy Law (Lei nº 8.245 of 1991). Rent is freely agreed but cannot be set in foreign currency or tied to the exchange rate or minimum wage, either side may ask a court to reset rent to market after three years, and only one guarantee is allowed, with cash deposits capped at three months of rent. Residential leases of 30 months or more end at term without notice, commercial tenants with five years of written contracts can force a renewal, built to suit deals may waive rent review, and eviction can be ordered on an interim basis in 15 days in listed cases.

USD figures use the Banco Central do Brasil PTAX selling rate of R$5.3346 per US dollar for 27 October 2026. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Maximum cash deposit in a lease	3 months of rentLei nº 8.245/1991 art. 38 § 2, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Rent in foreign currency or tied to the exchange rate	Prohibited Lei nº 8.245/1991 art. 17, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Years after which either party may ask a court to reset rent to market	3 yearsLei nº 8.245/1991 art. 19, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Residential lease term that ends without notice	30 monthsLei nº 8.245/1991 art. 46, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Minimum written contract term for a commercial renewal right	5 yearsLei nº 8.245/1991 art. 51 II, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Interim eviction period on listed grounds	15 daysLei nº 8.245/1991 art. 59 § 1, as of 2026-10-27 · in force

The rule

1. Term and early exit. A lease may have any term, but a term of ten years or more needs the spouse's consent, failing which the spouse is not bound by the excess. During the agreed term the landlord cannot take the property back; the tenant may return it by paying the agreed penalty in proportion to the time served, and is exempt if transferred by the employer to another city with 30 days' written notice.
Cost to do it: Early exit penalty as agreed, reduced pro rata to the time already served.Lei nº 8.245 of 18 October 1991 (Tenancy Law), art. 4 as worded by Lei nº 12.744 of 19 December 2012, Arts. 3 and 4, 1991-10-18 official text · verified 2026-10-27

2. Rent and review. Rent is freely agreed, but may not be set in foreign currency or tied to exchange rate variation or the minimum wage. The parties may agree a new rent or index clause at any time; failing agreement, after three years of the lease or of the last agreement, either party may ask a court to adjust the rent to market.
Cost to do it: Court costs and an appraisal in a review action.
Example: A R$8,000 rent cannot be written as US$1,500 a month or indexed to the dollar. / R$8,000 is about US$1,500.Lei nº 8.245 of 1991, Arts. 17, 18 and 19, 1991-10-18 official text · verified 2026-10-27

3. Who pays what. The landlord pays property taxes and fire insurance unless the contract says otherwise, administration and brokerage fees and extraordinary condominium expenses such as structural works and facade painting. The tenant pays rent by the sixth business day of the following month if no date is set, utilities, ordinary condominium expenses and the guarantee insurance premium.
Cost to do it: Contracts commonly shift IPTU to the tenant, which art. 22 VIII allows.Lei nº 8.245 of 1991, Art. 22 VII, VIII and X and sole paragraph; art. 23 I, VIII, XI and XII, 1991-10-18 official text · verified 2026-10-27

4. Guarantees. The landlord may require a deposit (caução), a personal guarantee (fiança), rent guarantee insurance or a fiduciary assignment of investment fund quotas, but only one of them in the same lease, on pain of nullity. A cash deposit may not exceed three months of rent and goes into a savings account, with the yield returned to the tenant.
Cost to do it: Cash deposit up to three months of rent.
Example: Rent R$8,000: maximum cash deposit R$24,000. / About US$4,499.Lei nº 8.245 of 1991, art. 37 as amended by Lei nº 11.196 of 2005, Art. 37 I to IV and sole paragraph; art. 38 § 2, 1991-10-18 official text · verified 2026-10-27

5. End of residential leases. A written residential lease of 30 months or more ends at term without notice; if the tenant stays more than 30 days without objection it becomes indefinite and the landlord may terminate at any time with 30 days to vacate. Shorter leases roll over indefinitely at term and the landlord can recover the property only in listed cases, such as own use, works increasing the area by at least 20 percent, or once the lease has run for five years.
Cost to do it: Signing for 30 months avoids being locked into the art. 47 grounds.Lei nº 8.245 of 1991, Arts. 46 and 47 I to V, 1991-10-18 official text · verified 2026-10-27

6. Sale of a leased property and the tenant's preference. If the property is sold, the buyer may terminate the lease with 90 days to vacate, unless the lease has a fixed term, a clause of validity on sale and is annotated on the matrícula. The tenant has a right of first refusal on equal terms and must receive full terms; a tenant passed over may claim damages, or, if the lease was annotated on the matrícula at least 30 days before the sale, deposit the price and take the property within six months of the sale's registration.
Cost to do it: Annotating the lease on the matrícula costs a registry fee and protects the tenant against a buyer.Lei nº 8.245 of 1991, Arts. 8, 27 and 33, 1991-10-18 official text · verified 2026-10-27

7. Commercial renewal. A commercial tenant has the right to renew for an equal term if the written contract, or the sum of uninterrupted written contracts, runs at least five years and the tenant has operated in the same line of business for at least three years without interruption; industrial and for profit civil companies have the same right. The renewal action must be filed between one year and six months before the contract ends, or the right lapses.
Cost to do it: Court costs; missing the six month window forfeits renewal.Lei nº 8.245 of 1991, Art. 51 I to III and §§ 4 and 5, 1991-10-18 official text · verified 2026-10-27

8. Built to suit. In a non residential urban lease where the landlord buys, builds or substantially renovates a property specified by the tenant for lease to it for a fixed term, the freely agreed terms prevail. The parties may waive rent review for the term, and if the tenant exits early it pays the agreed penalty, which may not exceed the rent due until the end of the term.
Cost to do it: Early exit penalty capped at the remaining rent.Lei nº 8.245 of 1991, art. 54-A added by Lei nº 12.744 of 19 December 2012, Art. 54-A caput and §§ 1 and 2, 2012-12-19 official text · verified 2026-10-27

9. Eviction. Interim eviction within 15 days, without hearing the tenant, is available on a deposit equal to three months of rent when the claim rests only on listed grounds, such as breach of a written termination agreement with at least six months to vacate, end of a holiday lease when the claim is filed within 30 days, end of a non residential lease when filed within 30 days of term or notice, or failure to replace a lost guarantee. After judgment the eviction order gives 30 days to vacate, cut to 15 days if more than four months passed between service and judgment.
Cost to do it: Deposit of three months of rent for interim relief, plus court costs.
Example: Rent R$8,000: deposit R$24,000. / About US$4,499.Lei nº 8.245 of 1991, arts. 59 and 63 as amended by Lei nº 12.112 of 9 December 2009, Art. 59 § 1 I to VIII; art. 63 caput and § 1, 2009-12-09 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Worked example

Office lease for a subsidiary. A foreign owned Ltda. signs a five year office lease at R$8,000 a month (about US$1,500), indexed to a Brazilian price index, since dollar indexing is barred (art. 17). It offers one guarantee, a three month cash deposit of R$24,000 (about US$4,499) (arts. 37 and 38). To preserve renewal, it must file the renewal action between 12 and 6 months before the end of year five (art. 51 § 5).

Step by step

1. Agree term, rent in reais and the index; choose one guarantee.
2. Allocate IPTU, condominium and insurance expressly.
3. If you are a tenant investing in fit out, add a clause of validity on sale and annotate the lease on the matrícula (arts. 8 and 33).
4. Calendar the renewal window for commercial leases (art. 51 § 5) and the three year review date (art. 19).
5. On default, use the interim eviction grounds where available (art. 59 § 1).

Common traps

Two guarantees in one lease. Only one is allowed, the extra is null (art. 37 sole paragraph).
Dollar rent. Barred for urban leases (art. 17); use reais with a price index.
Missing the renewal window. The right lapses if the action is not filed between one year and six months before term (art. 51 § 5).
Unregistered lease on a sale. A buyer can terminate with 90 days' notice unless the lease is annotated with a validity clause (art. 8).

Sources

Lei nº 8.245 of 18 October 1991 (Tenancy Law), compiled text, normas.leg.br

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