Roof Rights (Direito Real de Laje): How to Register and Maximize Your Property Value in Florianópolis

Registering roof rights stopped being a legal impossibility. Since 2017, Brazilian legislation recognizes that whoever builds above or under someone else’s property can obtain independent registration in the Property Registry Office. In Florianópolis, this possibility affects thousands of families living in stacked constructions on the hills and communities of the capital.

Law 13.465/2017 created articles 1.510-A through 1.510-E of the Civil Code and brought legal security to a reality that already existed on the streets. Before, anyone living on a second floor built above another person’s house had no formal property document.

Roof rights registration: What Law 13.465/2017 created

Roof rights registration gained legal foundation through articles 55 through 57 of Law 13.465/2017. The law included roof rights in the list of real rights of the Civil Code (art. 1.225, XIII). This means the roof rights holder possesses a right enforceable against third parties, registrable at the property registry, and eligible for bank financing.

The mechanism works as follows: the owner of the original property (the base construction) — which must have registration or regularized possession — grants the right to build or maintain an autonomous unit on an upper or lower floor. The roof rights holder receives independent registration, separate from the registration of the base construction.

Central points of the law:

• Roof rights do not grant an ideal share of the land to the holder
• The roof rights receive independent registration at the Property Registry
• The holder may use, enjoy, dispose of, and reclaim the unit
• The right may be created by contract, will, or adverse possession (usucapião)
• Roof rights allow successive upper layers (roof above roof), as long as each unit meets requirements

Functional isolation: What it means in practice

The law requires that the roof rights unit have functional isolation. This means the space must operate as an independent unit, with its own water, electricity, sewage, and access installations.

An extra room upstairs is not sufficient. The roof rights property must permit autonomous housing or use without dependence on the base construction’s installations.

Independent access to the public thoroughfare

The second mandatory requirement is independent access to the public thoroughfare. The roof rights resident must be able to enter and exit without passing through the interior of the base construction.

This access may be:

• External staircase with independent entrance
• Independent side hallway
• Access via different public thoroughfare

What requirements must the property meet to qualify for roof rights?

The most common question involves practical requirements. Legislation and legal doctrine establish clear conditions to enable registration.

Mandatory requirements:

• Functional isolation of the unit (independent installations)
• Independent access to public thoroughfare
• Authorization from the owner of the base construction (except via adverse possession)
• Prior annotation of the base construction in the property registration
• Compliance with municipal urban standards

Florianópolis Municipal Government requires construction to comply with the current Building Code, including certificate of occupancy (habite-se) when applicable. In areas regularized under REURB, urban parameters may receive flexibility per Law 13.465/2017.

How roof rights registration works at the Property Registry Office

Registration follows a specific procedure at the Property Registry Office of the property’s jurisdiction.

Documentation necessary for registration

The interested party must gather:

• Request signed by both parties (owner of base and roof rights holder)
• Contract or public deed establishing roof rights
• Site plan and descriptive memorial of the autonomous unit, signed by qualified professional (engineer or architect)
• ART or RRT (technical responsibility certificate) of the responsible professional
• Updated property registration certificate of the base construction

Step-by-step at the registry office

• The owner of the base construction annotates the existing building in the registration
• Both parties execute the instrument establishing roof rights
• The registry office opens independent registration for the roof rights unit
• The registrar notes in the base registration the existence of roof rights
• The roof rights holder receives independent property registration certificate

The average time at Florianópolis registry offices ranges from 30 to 90 days, depending on documentation and any additional requirements.

Right of first refusal and limitations of the roof rights holder

Article 1.510-D of the Civil Code establishes right of first refusal. If the roof rights holder wishes to sell the unit, they must first offer it to the base construction owner, and vice versa.

This right follows the same rules as first refusal among condominium owners. The deadline to exercise first refusal is 30 days from formal notification.

Important limitations:

• The roof rights holder has no right over the soil or ideal share of the land
• Roof rights confer no voting right in condominium assembly (if applicable)
• Destruction of the base construction does not automatically extinguish roof rights, except where reconstruction is technically impossible
• The holder is responsible for maintenance expenses of the unit and proportional contribution to common areas

Why roof rights matter so much in Florianópolis

Florianópolis has a geography that drives informal vertical construction. The hills of the capital, from the Maciço do Morro da Cruz to Monte Verde, from Saco dos Limões to the Pantanal, concentrate thousands of stacked buildings erected over decades with no registration.

Hills and stacked constructions: The capital’s reality

On Florianópolis’s central hills, families built floors above relatives’ or neighbors’ homes over generations. According to City Hall data, approximately 40% of the city’s properties have some form of irregularity — many concentrated in informal neighborhoods on the island (Source: Map of Land Title Irregularity, Florianópolis Municipal Government / redeplanejamento.pmf.sc.gov.br).

Roof rights offer a legal path for families needing to regularize property in Florianópolis. Before 2017, the only viable alternative was a building condominium (condomínio edilício), an expensive, bureaucratic instrument unsuitable for community reality.

Property appreciation with independent registration

Property with independent registration is worth more. Opening independent registration for roof rights enables:

• Formal sale with public deed
• Bank financing for the buyer
• Real estate collateral for credit operations
• Inventory and succession without litigation

Studies of the Santa Catarina real estate market indicate regularized properties reach prices 30% to 50% higher than equivalent unregistered properties — see appreciation data (Source: CRECI-SC).

Frequently asked questions about roof rights

Does roof rights registration work for commercial property?

Yes. The law does not restrict use to residential housing. Commercial units meeting the requirements of functional isolation and independent access may obtain independent registration.

Can I register roof rights without the base construction owner’s consent?

Yes, via adverse possession. If you have occupied the roof rights property for more than 5 years (special urban adverse possession) or 10/15 years (ordinary/extraordinary adverse possession), you may seek judicial or extrajudicial recognition of roof rights.

How much does roof rights registration cost in Florianópolis?

Costs include technical professional fees (site plan and memorial), property registry fees, and potential municipal taxes. Total cost typically ranges from R$ 3,000 to R$ 8,000, depending on property complexity.

Can roof rights have more than one floor?

Yes. The law allows successive upper layers. Each floor may generate independent registration, as long as it individually meets legal requirements.

Does IPTUIPTUVer tudo → change with roof rights registration?

Yes. City Hall will charge individual IPTU for the autonomous unit. This may reduce the total amount paid by the base construction owner. Also verify whether ITBIITBIVer tudo → is due on the creation of roof rights.

Regularize your roof rights in Florianópolis

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