In Real Estate Law, the decisive work is documentary, and documents can be reviewed from anywhere. Here you will see how a real estate case handled remotely works, what registry offices can already do electronically and why ITBI (municipal transfer tax), notary fees and registration rules change by municipality and state. Then choose your state.
What still changes from one place to another are registry and notary fees, set by a state table, the rules of the local Court of Justice Inspectorate (Corregedoria-Geral de Justiça) and the ITBI rate, which is a municipal tax. Two neighboring cities may have very different costs for the same transaction. That is exactly why each state has its own page here.
The power of attorney can be signed digitally, under art. 105, §1, of the Code of Civil Procedure. For notarial and registration acts, an electronic public deed is possible through the e-Notariado system, although there are still situations in which attendance at the notary office is required, depending on the rules of the state inspectorate.
Law practice in Brazil covers the entire national territory. Registration with the OAB (the Brazilian Bar) allows a lawyer to work in any state, and supplementary registration is only required when the lawyer practices habitually in another state section, under art. 10, §2, of the Brazilian Bar Statute. In practice, geographic distance is not, in itself, a legal obstacle.
Registry offices have also gone digital. Law 14,382/2022 created the Electronic System of Public Registries (SERP), allowing filing, follow-up and certificates by electronic means. Together with electronic court filing under Law 11,419/2006 and video hearings under CNJ Resolution 354/2020, this makes it feasible to handle most of a real estate case without travel.
Want to know the firm and the team's work in this area? See the Real Estate Law page on the CK Advogadas website (in Portuguese).
The route is defined according to the documents, the client's goal and the particulars of the specific case.
Registry costs, inspectorate rules and the organization of judicial districts change from one state to another. Each state page gathers what applies to your region.
The state pages for this area are in Portuguese.
Clear information to understand possibilities, deadlines and next steps before deciding.
The prior review goes beyond the property record. Personal certificates of the seller, especially labor, tax and enforcement ones, indicate a risk of fraud against creditors, a situation in which the sale may be undone later. Clearance certificates for the property, property tax (IPTU) and condominium fees complete the picture, since condominium debts follow the property.
When the property was acquired during a marriage or stable union, the consent of the spouse or partner is usually required. For rural property, there are additional georeferencing and CCIR requirements. Each of these omissions becomes a problem at registration, not at signing.
Compulsory adjudication has also left the courthouse. Art. 216-B of the Public Registries Law, added by Law 14,382/2022, allows anyone who has paid for the property in full to obtain title directly at the registry office, even without the seller's cooperation. It is the solution for the classic old unregistered contract.
Out-of-court adverse possession has existed since the 2015 Code of Civil Procedure added art. 216-A to the Public Registries Law. The request is filed directly with the Real Estate Registry where the property is located, supported by a notarial record, a plan, a descriptive report and the consent of neighboring owners, with no lawsuit needed when there is no dispute.
Art. 1,245 of the Civil Code is direct: ownership of real property is transferred by registering the title at the Real Estate Registry. An unregistered private contract, a receipt and even a public deed do not make anyone the owner until registered. Whoever pays and does not register remains legally without the property.
An up-to-date property record (matrícula) tells the full history of the property: who the owner is and whether there is a mortgage, attachment, usufruct or freeze. Reading the record before signing anything is the step that most prevents losses in the whole real estate area.
In Theme 1,113, the STJ held that the ITBI tax base is the transaction value declared by the taxpayer, which is presumed true, and that the municipality cannot set that value in advance based on its own reference without opening an administrative proceeding. This gave a concrete argument against inflated charges.
ITBI is a municipal tax. Rate, tax base and payment method are set by each city's law, which explains relevant differences between neighboring municipalities. Payment is a condition for registering the transfer, so it always goes into the total cost of the transaction.
Not everything can be solved on a screen. Property inspections, engineering assessments, land surveys and steps at the local registry may require physical presence or coordinated action in the region of the property. This is assessed case by case and disclosed before any engagement.
Some notarial acts still require in-person attendance, depending on the rules of the state inspectorate and the electronic structure of the notary office involved. Knowing this at the start avoids frustration halfway through.
An organized process, with clear communication from the first contact.
Send a summary of the case and tell us your city and state.
The team indicates which records are needed for the initial analysis.
Once the situation is understood, the applicable options are presented.
With its office in Cabo Frio - RJ, CK Advogadas combines legal work, accessible communication and individual follow-up. The online format makes it possible to serve clients in other states without losing the closeness needed to understand each situation.
The team assesses preventive, out-of-court and judicial options, always considering the documents, the risks and the goals presented by the client.
About the firm (in Portuguese)General answers to help with an initial understanding. Definitive guidance depends on the analysis of the specific case.
See the other areas when your situation involves more than one legal front.
Reading the property record and the certificates usually shows, right at the start, whether the transaction is safe or needs adjustment.
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