Karolina Puin

Karolina Puin


The Brazil Business

Updated

Subletting Office in Brazil

Karolina Puin

Karolina Puin


The Brazil Business

Updated

Subletting offices is a common practice in most of countries around the world, but in Brazil things are a bit different. Brazilians are having several problems with this practice, discover in this article what is legal and what is illegal to sublet in the country.

Is the subletting practice a problem in Brazil?

Brazilians are having problems with offices' owners due to illegal subletting. This practice is common but is not always within the law. To make that kind of deal work, first of all, the owner, the tenant and the subtenant must be in accordance.

According to the Lei do Inquilinato (Tenancy Law), tenants that sublet a property to other people without the owners knowledge can be punished. The penalty can include also indemnity to the subtenant and also to the owner, paid by the tenant.

At the core of de problem, the lack of education by people about what can and what can not be done when they are going to sublet a property. The lack of knowledge is not only on the tenant's side, but on the subtenant too, the most harmed when something goes wrong.

What are the risks?

Subletting seems to be a great deal for those who do not want to give up a commercial property or even only reduce the rent costs, but it is more complicated than anyone could imagine. There are risks in both of the cases.

Risks for those subletting to someone

The problem of Brazilians is that they think they can sublet a property for another person without the knowledge of the owner.

If you are planing to sublet a place for someone, legally, have in mind that if you sublet the whole property, you will lose the preference rights when re-renting. According to law, the preference rights goes automatically to the subtenant.

It is important to double check what are the activities that will be conducted in the place you plan to sublet. It is common to see people having problems with the owner because of the activity that the subtenant conducts is not stated on the initial renting contract.

Risks for those subletting from someone

If you are planing to rent an office from someone who already had rented it, have in mind that if the tenant is defaulting, you both can be evicted from the property. In that case there are two alternatives: either the subtenant pay what is in debt, or both (tenant and subtenant) must leave the property.

If the tenant quit the contract before the ending time, you are automatically bound to leave the property without any prior communication.

How to sublet safely?

Even though a lawyer can sort out all the legal issues related to subletting, it is good to know some important points when subletting in Brazil.

We have made a short list of the points that very often are reasons of problems for those who sublet in the country:

  • Be sure that the owner of the property is in accordance with the subletting practice. It is totally inadmissible to sublet anything without the owner's authorization.
  • If you sublet to someone the whole property, you must have in mind that you will lose the preference rights on the property, once the contract renewal will be offered to your subtenant.
  • Never charge from your subtenants more than you pay for the owner, it is illegal.
  • The subletting period can not be longer or the same as the tenant's rental contract.

If you are planing sublet an office from someone in Brazil, make sure that these topics are in accordance to law. That's important to avoid future problems.