Rent Adjustment Calculator (Brazil)

Index, 12-month accumulation and the base date

The adjustment does not use a single month's inflation: it accumulates the chosen index's change over the 12 months before the lease's base date. If the accumulated index for the period is, say, 4%, the rent rises 4%. The base date is usually the signing month, and the adjustment applies from it, once every 12 months (Law 8.245/1991, arts. 18 and 19).

The index choice matters because they behave differently. IGP-M, long the standard, is quite sensitive to the exchange rate and wholesale prices, which makes it volatile, it can spike one year and turn negative the next. IPCA and INPC measure consumer inflation and tend to vary more smoothly, which is why they are increasingly adopted in leases.

• Adjustment = index's 12-month accumulated change.
• Once a year, from the base date (Law 8.245/1991, arts. 18 and 19).
• IGP-M (FGV): volatile, sensitive to FX/wholesale.
• IPCA/INPC (IBGE): consumer inflation, smoother.

Applying the index and the deflation lock

Example 1, a typical adjustment (illustrative figures): a R$ 2,000 rent, with a contractual index accumulating 4.5% over the period, becomes R$ 2,090, a change of R$ 90. The calculator shows the new value and the percentage applied so you can check it against the lease.

Example 2, a negative index: in deflation years, the accumulated index can turn negative. Without a lock, the rent would fall; with the deflation-lock clause (present in most leases), the value simply is not reduced. Check the lock option to reproduce your lease's behavior.

How to avoid eviction by paying what is owed

When the tenant falls behind on rent, the landlord may file an eviction action for non-payment. But the law gives the tenant (and the guarantor) one last chance: cure the default, that is, pay the updated debt, with penalty and interest, within 15 days of service of process, which ends the case without eviction (art. 62, II, Law 8.245/1991, as amended by Law 12.112/2009). This option, however, can only be used once every 24 months, if the tenant already cured a default in the last two years, a new eviction action proceeds without this escape route.

The debt to cure the default adds up the overdue, unpaid rent installments, adjusted by the lease index, plus the contractual penalty (the penalty clause, usually 2% to 10%) and the contractual default interest (if the lease is silent, 1% monthly is commonly used). This calculator estimates that total in a simplified way, applying interest to the consolidated debt from the oldest rent due, for a court filing, the calculation should be done installment by installment.

• Cure of default: art. 62, II, Law 8.245/1991 (as amended by Law 12.112/2009).
• Deadline: 15 calendar days from service of process.
• Limit: one cure of default every 24 months.
• Debt = adjusted overdue rent + contractual penalty + default interest.

What the law allows and where to confirm

The annual adjustment is the landlord's right, but within the rules: only once a year, by the lease's index and on the correct base date. Changing the index (say, from IGP-M to IPCA) is possible but requires agreement between the parties, via an addendum. The tenant can contest if the index applied is not the contractual one or the date is wrong, including depositing the amount they believe is due in court.

Because the indices change each month, confirm the official figure before communicating the adjustment or calculating a debt: IGP-M at the IBRE/FGV portal and IPCA/INPC at IBGE. The tool uses approximate data for recent and future periods, so treat the result as an educational estimate, and seek an attorney if an eviction action is underway.