Brazilian Senate Passes Bill Banning Summary Eviction of Tenants During Pandemic

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On Tuesday evening, the Senate passed a bill that changes private legal relations during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Among the main changes is the ban on summary evictions of urban property tenants, through temporary court orders before the tenant had a time to defend itself; the new text is valid for all court cases between March 20th and October 30th this year.

The bill also allows residential tenants who experience economic and financial hardship due to the coronavirus crisis to suspend the payment of their rents in full or in part within the same period.

However, the amounts must be paid in installments from October 30th, in addition to a monthly 20 percent of the outstanding rents.

Until the President sanctions the law, tenants may be evicted in some instances, such as:

• Breach of contract in which the minimum period of six months for vacancy has been adjusted;
• death of the tenant without a rightful successor included in the lease, with individuals not authorized by law remaining in the property;
• the tenant residing in the property, even after the end of the lease;
• there is no payment of rent on maturity and the contract is devoid of any of the guarantees provided in Article 37 of the Lease Law.

If the bill is passed, the tenant’s eviction is banned in the above situations but is still permitted in other cases.

The main one is repossession after the end of the contract, when the property will return to use by its owners, their partners or dependants. Eviction may also be granted where works in the property have been ordered by the public authorities.

Bill 1179/2020 had been passed in the Senate in April and subsequently forwarded to the Chamber of Deputies. Amended by deputies, the text returned to the Senate as a substitute for further voting. As the substitute was rejected, the bill proceeds directly for sanction by the President.

In addition to revising the rules for tenants’ eviction, the bill establishes a particular legal framework, with changes in other areas, such as:

• Change in the effective date of the General Data Protection Act;
• Suspending the Right of Repentance under the Consumer Protection Code until October 30th, 2020. The suspension is valid for home delivery of medicines and food. The consumer’s right to waive the product in case of any fault is maintained;
• Permission for virtual meetings in condominiums;
• Exclusion of inflation increases, exchange rate variation, depreciation, or replacement of the currency pattern of unpredictable facts that may give rise to contract review.

Source: Exame