Frequently asked questions

Yes, during the pilot. If a feature becomes paid later we will say so on the site before it happens.

Yes, urban property in your own name, with no residency or visa required. You need a CPF (Brazilian tax number), money brought in through a formal FX contract, and registration of the deed at the property registry. Rural and border-area land is restricted.

Brazil's individual taxpayer number, required for any purchase. Obtainable without living in Brazil, through a consulate or Receita Federal online, free or nearly so.

Not by default. Since the STJ's ruling of 7 May 2026, running a unit in a residential building as short-stay accommodation is a change of the building's use, which takes a two-thirds vote of the owners. A convention that says nothing is not permission. The platform is not what decides: the court held that how a property is offered does not determine the arrangement's legal nature. In May 2026 the STJ also took this question up as binding repetitive Theme 1,443 and suspended every pending case on it nationwide, a suspension the Court publicized on 17 September 2026; until it rules, treat the two-thirds rule as the Court's earlier position, not a binding precedent.

The convention or a registered assembly minute expressly allowing short stays. A síndico's letter is weaker; a broker's word is not proof. We grade this evidence A, B, C on every verified listing.

Roughly 4 to 6%: municipal transfer tax ITBI (2 to 3%, São Paulo 3%) plus notary and registration fees (1 to 2%). The seller customarily pays the broker.

Only when the deed is registered on the property's matrícula at the Registro de Imóveis. The notary signing alone does not transfer ownership.

Residents: monthly progressive table up to 27.5%, with IPTU, condo (when you pay it) and admin fees deductible. From 2026, total taxable income up to R$5,000 a month is effectively exempt (Law 15.270/2025), which zeroes the tax for many small landlords. Non-residents: 15% on the rent after the charges the owner actually bears, such as the letting agent's fee (25% from listed low-tax jurisdictions).

Capital gains for individuals start at 15% (up to R$5 million of gain). Residents have exemptions (only-property sales up to R$440,000; reinvestment within 180 days). Non-residents do not get the residents' exemptions: 15%, rising in bands above R$5 million of gain, or 25% from listed low-tax jurisdictions.

In defined circumstances, yes. Since Law 13.097/2015, what is not annotated on the matrícula cannot be used against a buyer in good faith, and article 54 says proving that good faith requires no court certificates. The protection is not complete: it does not cover a seller's later bankruptcy, ownership changes that do not depend on registration, or tax enforcement, where a clean matrícula and good faith are not by themselves a defense. Pull the certificates anyway, as due diligence rather than as a legal condition.

A judicial or extrajudicial auction, often the best prices in the market. Read the edital: it tells you whether the unit is occupied, what fees you pay and your deadlines. What it cannot do is hand you the seller's old tax bill. In a judicial auction the property tax attaches to the sale proceeds, and the STJ held under Theme 1134 that a notice saying otherwise is invalid. That is judicial auctions; other kinds and older notices need their own reading. Condominium arrears sit on a separate footing. Beware inflated "discounts" measured against appraisal values rather than real market prices.

Every listing runs through a full investment model (financing, reform, rent scenarios, taxes, sale) and is ranked by net present value against a fixed-income benchmark, using assumptions you can inspect and change. Educational estimates, never promised returns.

Ask the broker (free during the pilot): our standardized question list to the listing broker. Building documents: we order and read the convention and the recent assembly minutes, and record what they say about short-term letting with an evidence grade. Seller-side certificates and the matrícula are a lawyer's job, not ours, and we say so every time.

At the average price, no. In the engine's base case an average-priced apartment in the prime neighborhoods of São Paulo and Rio returns a modeled 7.2% to 8.5% a year after tax over ten years, against an assumed 9.8% after tax in Brazilian fixed income, with the Selic at 14.00% since 5 August 2026. Listings priced in the bottom third of their neighborhood (one in ten in Itaim Bibi, one in five in Pinheiros, in our database of 7 September 2026), buildings that expressly allow short stays, and auctions can pass, and every listing improves if rates fall faster than the market expects.

Read the article: Is Property in Brazil a Good Investment? The After-Tax Answer (2026)

Gross asking yields were 6.43% in São Paulo and 6.25% in Rio in mid-2026 (FipeZap, June 2026); the dearest neighborhoods yield 5.2% to 5.6%, cheaper ones up to 7.6%. After costs and the non-resident's 15% withholding, an average-priced prime apartment pays 3% to 4.3% in cash in year one.

Read the article: Is Property in Brazil a Good Investment? The After-Tax Answer (2026)

A non-resident pays 15% of the rent, withheld at source in the month it is received, or 25% from a listed low-tax jurisdiction. The base is the rent less the charges the owner actually bears, which are the property taxes and fees, the condominium, the cost of collecting the rent and any sublease rent paid (Income Tax Regulation, articles 42 and 763); in a standard lease the tenant pays the condomínio and the IPTU, so the owner cannot deduct them. Residents pay the progressive table up to 27.5% after the same exclusions, with a reduction from 2026 that cancels the tax up to R$5,000 of monthly taxable income and tapers away by R$7,350 (Law 15.270/2025).

Read the article: Is Property in Brazil a Good Investment? The After-Tax Answer (2026)

15% of the gain up to R$5 million, then 17.5%, 20% and 22.5% in bands above it, or 25% throughout from a listed low-tax jurisdiction. The gain runs from the acquisition cost you can document, the buyer or the buyer's attorney-in-fact withholds on the day of the sale, and none of the exemptions residents use apply (Carvalho Barros, August 2026, citing Normative Instruction SRF 208/2002).

Read the article: Is Property in Brazil a Good Investment? The After-Tax Answer (2026)

São Paulo's average apartment costs US$2,155 per m² against US$6,896 in Madrid and US$9,655 in London (Global Property Guide, July 2026). Best district against best district, Itaim Bibi averages US$3,920 per m², about a third of Madrid's Salamanca and a ninth of Mayfair.

Read the article: Is Property in Brazil a Good Investment? The After-Tax Answer (2026)

FipeZap's average asking price was R$19,990 per m² in July 2026 (FipeZap), about US$3,920. In our database (7 September 2026) apartments of 80 to 120 m² run from under R$10,000 to over R$40,000 per m², median R$16,186.

Read the article: São Paulo Apartment Investment: 3 Real Listings Run After Tax (2026)

About R$9,330 a month at FipeZap's June 2026 asking rent of R$93.3 per m² (FipeZap rental index), more in a newer building on a high floor, less in an older one at street level. The tenant pays the condomínio and the IPTU on top.

Read the article: São Paulo Apartment Investment: 3 Real Listings Run After Tax (2026)

At the neighborhood's average price, no. In the engine's base case an average-priced Itaim Bibi apartment returns a modeled 7.5% a year after tax over ten years, against an assumed 9.8% after tax in Brazilian fixed income, with the Selic, Brazil's policy rate, at 14.00% since 5 August 2026. In that base case 150 of 1,542 Itaim Bibi listings pass, Listing A among them; faster easing improves every listing, but we have not calculated how many would then pass.

Read the article: São Paulo Apartment Investment: 3 Real Listings Run After Tax (2026)

In a residential building, only where the convention or a registered assembly minute authorizes the use. Since the STJ's ruling of 7 May 2026, running a unit as short-stay accommodation is treated as a change of the building's use, which takes a two-thirds vote of the owners (STJ, REsp 2.121.055). Where it is allowed, a 100 m² Itaim Bibi flat earns about 30% more after tax on our August 2026 calibration.

Read the article: São Paulo Apartment Investment: 3 Real Listings Run After Tax (2026)

The Pinheiros studio above shows an asking-price gross yield of about 8% against 5.6% for a typical Itaim Bibi flat, but on our calibration a 25 m² unit earns about the same after tax let long term or short term, so the case rests on the yield, not on an Airbnb premium.

Read the article: São Paulo Apartment Investment: 3 Real Listings Run After Tax (2026)

In a residential building, only where the convention or a registered assembly minute authorizes the use. Since the STJ's ruling of 7 May 2026, running a unit as short-stay accommodation is treated as a change of the building's use, which takes a two-thirds vote of the owners (REsp 2.121.055; Civil Code, article 1.351). In May 2026 the STJ also took this question up as binding repetitive Theme 1,443 and suspended every pending case on it nationwide, a suspension the Court publicized on 17 September 2026; until it rules, treat the two-thirds rule as the Court's earlier position, not a binding precedent.

Read the article: Airbnb in Brazilian Condominiums: The 2026 STJ Ruling

That intensive short-stay letting is an atypical arrangement between a residential lease and hotel accommodation, and that offering a unit that way in a residential building changes the use it was set up for, so it requires the two thirds a change of use requires. The court also held that the way the property is offered, the platform itself, does not determine the legal nature of the arrangement (STJ, Second Section). In May 2026 the STJ also took this question up as binding repetitive Theme 1,443 and suspended every pending case on it nationwide, a suspension the Court publicized on 17 September 2026; until it rules, treat the two-thirds rule as the Court's earlier position, not a binding precedent.

Read the article: Airbnb in Brazilian Condominiums: The 2026 STJ Ruling

No, this is not a nationwide ban. It decides who gets to authorize the use in a residential condominium. The building's and the unit's designation, and what is actually being run there, determine whether a change-of-use approval is needed. It does not regulate the platforms, and it does not touch a building whose convention already authorizes short stays.

Read the article: Airbnb in Brazilian Condominiums: The 2026 STJ Ruling

Ask for the convention and the assembly minutes of the last few years, and read them for authorization covering the accommodation business you intend, which is not the same as permission for an ordinary locação por temporada. A síndico's letter helps but does not settle it, and a broker's word settles nothing. Have a local property lawyer confirm what you find.

Read the article: Airbnb in Brazilian Condominiums: The 2026 STJ Ruling

Yes, by the same two-thirds vote that would authorize it. That is why an apartment bought on the strength of short-stay income carries a risk a long-term rental does not, and why every listing on Brazilestate shows its short-stay status, with the verification date and the evidence grade where we have read the documents. In May 2026 the STJ also took this question up as binding repetitive Theme 1,443 and suspended every pending case on it nationwide, a suspension the Court publicized on 17 September 2026; until it rules, treat the two-thirds rule as the Court's earlier position, not a binding precedent.

Read the article: Airbnb in Brazilian Condominiums: The 2026 STJ Ruling

No. It is the Second Section's reading in REsp 2.121.055 of 7 May 2026, decided by five votes to four. The same Section is now deciding the question as repetitive Theme 1,443, with every pending case frozen since its order of 26 May 2026, and the federal prosecutor's office argued on 28 August 2026 that a generic residential-use clause is not enough to bar short stays. Until the theme is judged, the May reading stands. Whichever way it goes, on this question a validly voted authorization that covers the use you intend is the only position protected under both outcomes; a later vote can still withdraw it.

Read the article: Airbnb in Brazilian Condominiums: The 2026 STJ Ruling

Yes, in three defined circumstances, and they do not work alike. A sale made while the seller faced a ruinous lawsuit can be declared fraud against enforcement, but the creditor must show a registered attachment or that the buyer knew (article 792; Súmula 375). A sale designed to defeat creditors can be attacked for four years, on proof that the seller was insolvent and the insolvency knowable (Civil Code, articles 158 to 165 and 178). Tax is stricter: a sale by a taxpayer whose debt is already enrolled is presumed fraudulent, and good faith alone is not a defense unless the seller left assets or income sufficient to pay the enrolled debt in full (National Tax Code, article 185), or the narrow First Panel ruling applies, where the buyer bought in good faith relying on a clearance certificate the tax authority had issued in error through its own fault alone. Outside tax enforcement, article 54 protects the good-faith buyer against unrecorded claims, subject to its bankruptcy carve-out and to ownership changes that do not depend on registration (Law 13.097/2015, article 54).

Read the article: Buying Property in Brazil: The Due Diligence Checklist (2026)

Some are required and most are not. The notary must see proof that the transfer tax was paid, the fiscal certificates and the certificates of ownership and of charges (Law 7.433/1985, article 1, paragraph 2). Beyond those, article 54, paragraph 2 of Law 13.097/2015 says establishing good faith requires no court or distributor certificates at all. Pull them anyway, as due diligence rather than as a legal condition: they are how you find a problem while you can still act on it. The full set is in the checklist above, and it covers the seller as well as the apartment.

Read the article: Buying Property in Brazil: The Due Diligence Checklist (2026)

Yes. Arrears attach to the unit (Civil Code, article 1.345), and unpaid IPTU transfers with the property unless proof of payment is presented at the deed (National Tax Code, article 130). Neither depends on what you knew, so ask for the declaration and the clearance before you sign.

Read the article: Buying Property in Brazil: The Due Diligence Checklist (2026)

In a judicial auction covered by Theme 1134, the property taxes already charged attach to the sale proceeds rather than to you (National Tax Code, article 130, sole paragraph), and an auction notice saying otherwise is invalid. Other kinds of auction, and notices published before that judgment, need their own reading. Condominium arrears sit on a separate footing either way, so read the edital and price them in.

Read the article: Buying Property in Brazil: The Due Diligence Checklist (2026)

Nothing obliges you to use one, and the notary will not do this work for you. For a few thousand reais a local property lawyer reads the matrícula and the certificates and tells you what they mean. On a purchase of a million reais or more, declining that is the worst trade in the transaction.

Read the article: Buying Property in Brazil: The Due Diligence Checklist (2026)