Real Estate Law we take care of your property in Brazil.

Adverse possession (usucapião) is the means of acquiring ownership of real property through prolonged, undisturbed, peaceful and uninterrupted possession, for the term and under the conditions required by law. It is an original acquisition: the right arises from possession, not from a purchase. It serves to regularize the position of someone who has occupied a property for years as if its owner, but does not hold registration in their name. It may be carried out judicially or extrajudicially.

They vary by type: the extraordinary type requires 15 years of possession (or 10, if the possessor lives or works on the property); the ordinary type, 10 years with just title and good faith (5, in certain cases); the special urban type, 5 years over up to 250 m²; the special rural type, 5 years over up to 50 hectares; and the family type, 2 years (art. 1.240-A of the Brazilian Civil Code). The right type depends on the case.

Yes. Extrajudicial adverse possession allows ownership to be recognized directly at the real property registry office, without a court action, where there is consensus and the necessary documentation (notarial deed of facts, survey plan and descriptive memorial, consent of the adjoining owners). In São Paulo, it is processed at the real property registry office where the asset is located. Where there is a dispute or a lack of consent, the judicial route is used.

Family adverse possession (art. 1.240-A of the Brazilian Civil Code) allows the spouse or partner who remained in the property after the other abandoned the home to acquire the share that belonged to the former partner, in just 2 years. It requires an urban property of up to 250 m², used as the family's home, and that the applicant not own another property. It is the shortest-term type under Brazilian law.

You need to carry out the recordation of the building, the act that adds the structure to the property record (matrícula) — which, without it, describes only the land (art. 167, II, 4, of the Public Records Act). As a rule, it requires the certificate of occupancy from the city, the regularization of the construction with the Federal Revenue Service (CNO) and the technical responsibility note (ART) of the responsible professional. It is indispensable in order to sell, finance or give the property as security.

Through rectification of the record, which corrects wrong information on the property record (matrícula) — area, measurements, boundaries, description (arts. 213 and 214 of the Public Records Act). In most cases it is done administratively, at the registry office itself, with a survey plan and descriptive memorial signed by a qualified professional and the consent of the adjoining owners. It does not increase the property: it merely adjusts the property record to the reality of the property.