Articles | Postado no dia: 6 November, 2026
A Deed Is Not Registration: What Actually Guarantees Property Ownership?
It is common to believe that, once a public deed of sale and purchase has been signed, ownership of the property has been definitively transferred to the buyer. However, this understanding does not reflect the provisions of Brazilian law.
Although a public deed is an important instrument for formalizing a transaction, it does not, by itself, transfer real estate ownership. Under Article 1,245 of the Brazilian Civil Code, ownership is transferred between living parties through the registration of the title at the competent Real Estate Registry Office.
In this context, the property registration record (matrícula imobiliária) plays a fundamental role. More than an identification document, it contains the property’s legal history, providing information about ownership, characteristics, and any legal acts that may affect the rights associated with it.
For this reason, it is not enough for a property to have a registration record. It is equally important that this record be up to date, including all legally required registrations and annotations, so that it accurately reflects the property’s legal status.
The Public Records Act (Law No. 6,015/1973) governs these procedures, which may include, among other things, transfers of ownership, the creation of security interests, building annotations, and changes to the property’s characteristics.
The absence of these updates may create discrepancies between the property’s actual condition and the information contained in its registration record, making transactions, financing operations, and risk assessments by interested third parties more difficult.
This also applies, for example, to companies that use third-party properties to conduct their business activities through leases, land-use agreements, or other contractual arrangements. In projects such as solar farms, industrial facilities, and logistics centers, inconsistencies involving ownership, property descriptions, liens, or restrictions may compromise contractual security and project development.
Therefore, regardless of whether a project is developed on property owned by the company or by a third party, reviewing and ensuring the regularity of property registration records are important measures for asset management and risk prevention.
The legal security of a business project also begins with the property’s registration status. After all, what risks does a company assume when investing in a property without fully understanding its legal history and conditions?
Authors: Izadora Barbosa and Luciana Gurgel
