Easement (Servidão Predial)

An easement (servidão predial) is a real right over another’s property by which one property, called the dominant estate, gains the right to use or to impose a restriction on a neighboring property, the servient estate. The bond runs between the properties, not between people: the owner can change, but the easement remains.

Under the Civil Code (Articles 1,378 to 1,389), an easement can be created by contract (a public deed registered at the CRI), by adverse possession (usucapião), or by court ruling. Adverse possession applies only to apparent easements: 10 years with just title and good faith, or 20 years without title. A non-apparent easement cannot be acquired by adverse possession and requires a registered public deed or a court ruling. Without registration on the title record, the easement is not enforceable against a third-party buyer acting in good faith.

• Right-of-way easement: the right to cross another’s property, the most common type in high-end developments with shared access.
• Aqueduct easement: passage of pipes or watercourses through the servient property.
• Non-building easement (non aedificandi): prevents the owner of the servient property from erecting a structure above a certain height or within a defined strip.
• Utility easement: passage of power lines, poles, or telecommunications cables through the property.

An easement can be apparent (visible through an external sign) or non-apparent (with no physical mark). In Florianópolis, easements are especially common on marina-front land (terrenos de marinha) with shared access to the waterfront, and in developments such as Jurerê Internacional.