Judicial responses to the recognition of laje rights highlight progress in property rights for informal settlements, suggesting improved access to housing.
Brazil’s long-standing property inequalities have excluded marginalized populations from formal ownership, particularly in informal settlements like favelas. Also after the enactment of the 2002 Civil Code, legal frameworks have largely overlooked informal housing dynamics, i.e. the formation of slums on the peripheries of the cities through illegal occupation of public or private land. In 2017, Statute No 13.465/2017 introduced the right of laje (rooftop property) – a form of housing built atop existing structures – into the Civil Code, granting legal recognition to longstanding social practices. Commonly transferred through informal ‘drawer contracts,’ lajes now qualify for formal registration, and those informal arrangements are being gradually recognized as legal agreements in order to legitimize occupation and provide formal titles, as an alternative to granting property rights. However, challenges persist: many lajes are built on irregularly occupied land, and public registries and courts have struggled to adapt. This research examines judicial responses to laje rights since 2017, focusing on case law from São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. By analyzing doctrinal and jurisprudential developments, the study seeks to assess the effectiveness of laje recognition in promoting equitable access to property rights in Brazil’s urban peripheries.
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Angelo Prata de Carvalho (2025) studied this question.
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